Olljf  i.  %  ^xn  ICibrarg 


•Nnrtl!  eiarolttia  g'tate  (Hallesi 


F36 


Univ.  of  Calit.  Ubfkr^ 
Withdrawn 


NORTH  CAROLINA  STATE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES    ' 


S01 948771 


124'/ 


This  book  may  be  kept  out  TWO  WEEKS 
ONLY,  and  is  subject  to  a  fine  oij^BBSSSP 
.^^^S^a  day  thereafter.  It  is  due  on  the 
day  indicated  below: 


?Jan'57y 

J  Feb' 57  s 

llOrt'573 

ja«'58fi 

20ct'61S 

16Jaii'62t 

.. 

:■  ■    .     iy 

-c, 

50M— 048-Form 

} 

^ 


ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY 


A  REFERENCE  BOOK 

FOR  STUDENTS  OF  POLITICAL  ECONOMY  AND 

PROFESSIONAL  AND  LAY  STUDENTS 

OF  FORESTRY 


BERNHARD    E.    FERNOW,    LL.D. 

Professor  of  Forestry  in  the  University  of  Toronto 


■fiBTi.'    EDirrOV 


NEW   YORK 

THOMAS   Y.   CROWELL  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  igo2, 
By  THOMAS  Y.   CROWELL   &  CO. 

Published  December,  1902. 


€a  Mv  JFrienU 
EDWARD    A.    BOWERS 

TO   WHOSE   PERSISTENT,    UNSELFISH   AND    UNOSTENTATIOUS 

EFFORTS,    IN   AND   OUT   OF   OFFICE,    IS   SO   LARGELY 

DUE  THE   ESTABLISHMENT   OF   THE 

FEDERAL  FOREST  RESERVATION   POLICY 


1 24.777 


EDITORIAL    PREFACE. 

Some  years  ago  I  made  a  contract  with  Messrs. 
T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.  for  the  editorship  of  certain 
volumes  in  their  Library  of  Economics  and  Poli- 
tics, and  among  them  the  present  work  by  Dr. 
Fernow  was  included.  Although  I  have  resigned 
my  position  as  general  editor  of  this  Library,  I 
am  glad  to  accede  to  the  request  of  the  publish- 
ers to  continue  the  original  arrangement  for  this 
volume. 

RICHARD   T.    ELY. 


PREFACE. 

In  this  volume  it  is  proposed  to  treat  of  for- 
ests and  forestry  from  the  standpoint  of  political 
economy. 

The  statesman,  the  student  of  economics,  as 
well  as  the  layman  who  desires  knowledge  on 
these  matters,  is  to  find  here  such  information 
as  will  enable  him  to  form  an  intelligent  view 
and  a  true  estimate  of  the  position  which  forests 
and  forestry  should  occupy  in  our  political  house- 
hold, or  rather  the  position  which  the  community 
and  governments  should  take  with  reference  to 
their  forest  resources ;  it  is  to  furnish  a  trust- 
worthy basis  for  formulating  public  policy.  At 
the  same  time  it  is  hoped  that  this  presentation 
of  the  subject  will  be  acceptable  to  the  growing 
number  of  professional  foresters,  assisting  them 
in  an  inteUigent  survey  of  their  art  from  a  point 
of  view  outside  of  that  of  the  technicist. 

Hitherto  the  questions  arising  in  connection  with 
the  proper  utilization  of  our  forest  resources  and 
with  forest  preservation  have,  in  the  United  States, 
been  largely  discussed  in  a  popular  way,  mostly 
by   amateurs   and   laymen,  who   were   without   a 


viii  PREFACE. 

knowledge  of  the  technical  side  of  the  subject; 
the  professional  economists  who,  only  incidentally 
and  sporadically,  refer  to  the  question  have  also, 
at  best,  possessed  only  a  reading  knowledge  of  the 
natural  history  of  the  forest  and  of  the  forester's 
art.  As  a  result  of  this  insufficient  knowledge, 
these  writings  are  only  too  frequently  character- 
ized by  one-sided  arguments  and  a  partisan  atti- 
tude without  sufficient  basis  in  fact. 

Nor  is  there,  as  far  as  the  writer  knows,  any 
book  in  the  Enghsh  language  which  attempts  a 
full  and  systematic  discussion  of  the  subject  in 
the  manner  in  which  it  is  to  be  treated  here.  This 
book,  then,  is  not  intended  as  a  popular  discus- 
sion, but  proposes  to  supply  a  lack  in  the  pro- 
fessional literature  of  economics  in  the  English 
language ;  in  fact,  even  the  Germans  have  with 
perhaps  one  exception  not  yet  produced  a  publica- 
tion exactly  analogous,  as  may  be  learned  from 
the  annotated  index  to  the  literature  given  in  the 
Appendix. 

The  main  difference  between  the  present  vol- 
ume and  other  existing  books  may  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  not  only  the  things  which  directly  inter- 
est the  economist  have  been  discussed,  but  also  a 
more  or  less  comprehensive  exposition  of  the  tech- 
nical details  of  the  forester's  art  is  given,  which 
permits  the  forming  of  a  judgment  as  to  the  condi- 
tions and  hmitations  under  which  this  art,  or  how 
much  of  it,  can  or  must  be  practised. 


PREFACE.  ix 

In  discussing  doubtful  questions,  the  writer  has 
endeavored  to  maintain  a  judicial  spirit  of  inquiry, 
and  to  point  out  not  only  ideals,  principles,  and 
truths,  but  also  practical  limitations  which  prevent 
the  attainment  of  the  ideals. 

In  order  not  to  encumber  the  text  too  much,  an 
appendix  of  notes,  tables,  and  references  has  been 
added,  which  will  assist  in  verifying  conclusions 
drawn  and  give  direction  to  those  who  desire  to 
study  further. 

To  the  unnamed  friend  who  has  kindly  under- 
taken to  revise  the  proof-sheets  I  desire  to  express 
my  thanks. 

B.  E.  FERNOW. 
Ithaca,  November,  1902. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   I. 

PAGE 

Introductory:  The  Relation  of  the  State  to 

Natural  Resources i 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Forest  as  a  Resource 21 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Forest  as  a  Condition 54 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Forest  and  Forestry  Defined       .        .        .        .81 

CHAPTER  V. 

Factors   of    Forest    Production   and    Business 

Aspects 106 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Natural  History  of  the  Forest   .        .        .        .140 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Methods   of    Forest    Crop    Production:    Silvi- 
culture         165 

xi 


XU  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

PAGE 

Methods  of  Business  Conduct:  Forest  Economy     197 

CHAPTER   IX. 
Principles  and  Methods  of  Forest  Policy  .        .    228 

CHAPTER  X. 
Forest  Policies  of  Foreign  Nations     .        .        .    274 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Forest  Conditions  of  the  United  States    .        -331 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Forestry  Movement  in  the  United  States    369 


Appendix 413 

Bibliography 491 

Index 509 


ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 


CHAPTER   I. 

INTRODUCTORY:  THE  RELATION  OF  THE  STATE   TO 
NATURAL   RESOURCES. 

The  natural  resources  of  the  earth  have  in  all 
ages  and  in  all  countries,  for  a  time  at  least,  been 
squandered  by  man  with  a  wanton  disregard  of  the 
future,  and  are  still  being  squandered  wherever 
absolute  necessity  has  not  yet  forced  a  more  care- 
ful utilization. 

This  is  natural,  as  long  as  the  exploitation 
of  these  resources  is  left  unrestricted  in  private 
hands ;  for  private  enterprise,  private  interest, 
knows  only  the  immediate  future  —  has  only  one 
aim  in  the  use  of  these  resources,  namely,  to  ob- 
tain from  them  the  greatest  possible  personal  and 
present  gain. 

Occasionally  there  may  enter  into  its  considera- 
tion a  desire  to  prolong  the  source  of  profit,  so 
that  it  may  not  only  hold  out  during  the  lifetime 
of  the  individual,  but  continue  flowing  for  his 
heirs ;   or  else  other  than  business  considerations 


D.  H.  HILL  LIBRARY 


2  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

may,  for  a  while  at  least,  preserve  possible  sources 
of  profit  from  mismanagement,  usually  by  mere 
non-use,  much  more  rarely  by  conscious  manage- 
ment for  continuity.  In  most  cases  it  will  be 
found  that  the  busy  competition  of  the  present 
has  a  destructive  tendency  and  leads  to  wasteful 
methods,  especially  if  the  resources  are  large  in 
comparison  with  the  population  and  its  needs. 
Density  of  population  is  the  index  of  the  intensity 
with  which  resources  will  be  husbanded.  Plenty 
breeds  extravagance ;  dearth  breeds  care. 

Thus  in  the  United  States,  with  its  enormous 
resources  in  fields  and  forests  and  mines,  which 
are  open  to  the  unrestricted,  licentious  use  of  a 
comparatively  small  population,  the  destruction  of 
valuable  material  in  the  exploitation  of  these  nat- 
ural riches,  the  careless  and  extravagant  use  of 
them,  the  neglect  to  which  they  are  abandoned  as 
soon  as  the  cream  is  taken,  are  simply  characteris- 
tic of  all  pioneering  populations.  With  us,  more- 
over, the  pioneering  stage  fell  into  a  period  when 
the  invention  and  development  of  railroad  trans- 
portation intensified  the  disproportion  of  popula- 
tion and  resources,  opening  up  new  territory  and 
making  virgin  supplies  available  more  rapidly  than 
the  needs  of  a  resident  population  required,  thus 
creating  destructive  competition  in  the  attempts  to 
profit  from  a  non-intensive,  rapacious  exploitation 
and  exportation.  For,  in  the  absence  of  a  resident 
population  to  use  the  less  valuable  portions  of  the 


INTRODUCTORY.  3 

products,  these  had  to  go  to  waste,  since  only  the 
best  portions  could  bear  the  cost  of  transportation 
to  distant  centres  of  consumption. 

The  amount  of  waste  in  materials,  natural  re- 
sources, and  in  energy,  which  this  uneven  settle- 
ment and  development  of  the  country  has  produced, 
has  been  enormous  in  all  directions,  and  more  espe- 
cially in  fields  and  forests.  The  desire  for  a  tangi- 
ble share  in  the  wealth  that  can  be  derived  by  the 
exploitation  of  these  resources,  the  greed  of  the 
individual,  together  with  the  unfavorable  distribu- 
tion of  population,  have  led  to  their  careless  and 
wasteful  use. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  individual,  that  use 
of  his  opportunities  which  gives  him  greatest  satis- 
faction in  the  present  appears  justifiable  ;  while 
society  may  incidentally  benefit  from  his  efforts  in 
producing  and  distributing  wealth,  the  individual, 
as  a  rule,  cares  little  about  that  result  of  his  activ- 
ity, nor  does  he  care  if  the  results  of  his  endeavors 
are  the  opposite  from  beneficial  to  society,  unless 
society  itself  step  in  and  protect  its  interests. 

From  the  fact  that  within  any  aggregation  of 
people  inimical  interests  arise,  that  the  interests 
of  one  set  of  individuals  may  clash  with  those 
of  another  set,  or  that  the  welfare  of  the  whole 
may  be  jeopardized  by  the  unrestricted  exercise 
of  the  rights  of  the  few,  the  necessity  for  the 
Hmitation  of  the  rights  of  the  members  arises, 
which,  as  far  as  the  exercise  of   property  rights 


4  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

goes,  finds  expression  in  the  old  Roman  law,  "Utere 
tiio  ne  alteriim  noceas"  namely,  such  use  of  the 
property  as  shall  not  entail  damage  to  another 
party. 

This  ancient  restrictive  principle,  which  is  rec- 
ognized in  all  civilized  states,  was  at  first  probably 
applied  only  to  interferences  between  private  inter- 
ests ;  but  finally  the  protection  of  the  interests  of 
the  aggregation  against  those  of  the  individual 
must  have  necessitated  its  application,  whenever 
a  communal  interest  would  suffer  by  the  unre- 
stricted  exercise  of  individual  rights. 

This  restrictive  function  of  the  state,  in  addition 
to  that  of  defending  the  aggregation  against  out- 
siders, will  probably  be  admitted  by  all  parties  and 
schools  as  elementary  and  essential  to  the  existence 
of  the  state.  Divergence  of  opinion  arises,  how- 
ever, not  only  when  additional,  more  positive,  and 
directive  functions  are  claimed  for  the  state,  —  as, 
for  instance,  when  the  laissez-faire  policy  is  to  be 
supplanted  by  a  faire-7narcJier  promotive  policy,  — 
but  also  in  the  interpretation  of  the  meaning  of  the 
terms  of  the  mere  restrictive  function,  when  the 
question  arises,  what  is  to  be  considered  damage 
and  who  the  other  is  that  is  to  be  protected. 

The  very  nature  of  the  modern  civilized  govern- 
ment necessitates  the  very  widest  interpretation  of 
these  terms.  Civilized  states  of  to-day  are  intended 
and  built  for  permanency ;  they  are  not  held  to- 
gether by  mere  compacts  of  the  single  members  of 


INTRODUCTORY.  5 

society,  which  may  be  broken  at  any  time.  While 
forms  of  government  may  change,  the  organization, 
the  state  idea,  promises  to  be  permanent.  This  con- 
ception of  the  permanency  of  the  state,  the  realiza- 
tion that  it  is  not  a  thing  of  to-day  and  for  a  limited 
time,  but  forever,  widens  its  functions  and  extends 
its  sphere  of  action ;  for  it  is  no  longer  to  be  re- 
garded as  merely  the  arbiter  between  its  present 
members,  but  it  becomes  the  guardian  of  its  future 
members;  government  becomes  the  representa- 
tive, not  only  of  present  communal  interests,  as 
against  individual  interests,  but  also  of  future 
interests  as  against  those  of  the  present.  Its 
object  is  not  only  for  the  day,  but  includes  the 
perpetuity  of  the  well-being  of  society,  and  the 
perpetuity  of  such  favorable  conditions  as  will  con- 
duce to  the  continued  welfare  and  improvement 
of  the  same ;  in  short,  its  activity  must  be  with 
regard  to  continuity,  it  must  provide  for  the  fu- 
ture, it  must  be  providential.  We  do  not  create 
this  special  providence  for  the  individual,  but  for 
society ;  the  individual  will  have  to  work  out  his 
own  salvation  to  a  large  extent,  with  the  opportu- 
nities for  advancement  offered  by  society,  but  so- 
ciety itself  can  only  act  through  the  state  ;  and, 
as  the  representative  of  the  future  as  well  as  the 
present,  the  state  cannot,  like  the  individual,  "let 
the  future  take  care  of  itself."  In  our  present 
state  activity  and  legislation  there  is  as  yet  but 
little  realization  of  its  providential  functions.     Even 


6  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

the  question  of  education,  which  in  part  provides 
for  future  improvement,  is  only  imperfectly  con- 
sidered from  this  point  of  view.  The  question  of 
the  franchise,  as  well  as  that  of  immigration,  both 
of  which  are  of  the  greatest  influence  upon  the 
future  composition  and  condition  of  our  society, 
are  much  more  often  discussed  with  reference  to 
the  rights  of  present  members  than  with  reference 
to  the  future  of  society. 

The  one  condition  of  social  life  in  which  the 
action  of  the  present  influences  the  future  almost 
more  than  in  any  other  direction,  namely,  the  con- 
dition of  the  means  of  material  existence  and  their 
economical  use  (the  economy  of  resources),  has  re- 
ceived perhaps  the  least  recognition  in  practice  as 
well  as  in  theoretical  discussion ;  and  especially  is 
this  absence  of  attention  to  this  most  important 
branch  of  economics  noticeable  in  EngUsh  litera- 
ture. 

The  reason  probably  is  that  the  need  of  careful 
analysis  of  this  factor  of  social  life  has  as  yet  not 
been  pressing.  But  as  the  world  has  been  explored 
in  all  corners  and  the  extent  of  its  resources  has 
become  more  nearly  known,  and  as  it  is  being  rap- 
idly peopled  everywhere  and  the  causes  of  depopu- 
lation are  becoming  less,  the  warnings  of  Malthus 
and  Mill  come  home  to  us  with  new  force ;  and  the 
study  of  the  nature  of  resources,  their  relation  to 
social  life  and  development,  and  their  economy,  be- 
comes a  most  important  branch  of  social  science, 


INTRODUCTORV.  7 

which  will  overshadow  some  of  the  other  branches, 
now  appearing  all-important.  When  the  questions 
of  the  extension  of  suffrage  to  women,  of  tariff, 
of  taxation,  of  coinage  and  currency,  which  are 
all  merely  incidents,  will  have  sunk  into  the  back- 
ground, the  question  of  the  economy  of  the  re- 
sources which  constitute  and  sustain  the  political, 
commercial,  and  social  power  of  the  nation  —  long 
neglected  —  will  still  claim  attention  ;  for  only  those 
nations  who  develop  their  natural  resources  eco- 
nomically, and  avoid  the  waste  of  that  which  they 
produce,  can  maintain  their  power  or  even  secure 
the  continuance  of  their  separate  existence.  A 
nation  may  cease  to  exist  as  well  by  the  decay  of 
its  resources  as  by  the  extinction  of  its  patriotic 
spirit.  While  we  are  debating  over  the  best  meth- 
ods of  disposing  of  our  wealth,  we  gradually  lose 
our  very  capital  without  even  realizing  the  fact. 
As  Marsh  1  points  out  in  his  classical  work,  man 
is  constantly  modifying  the  earth  and  making  it 
more  and  more  uninhabitable ;  he  goes  over  its 
rich  portions  and  leaves  behind  a  desert. 

Whether  we  have  a  high  tariff  or  no  tariff,  an 
income  tax  or  a  head  tax,  direct  or  indirect  taxation, 
bimetallism  or  a  single  standard,  national  banks  or 
state  banks,  are  matters  which  concern,  to  be  sure, 
the  temporary  convenience  of  the  members  of  so- 
ciety, but   their   prejudicial   adjustment   is   easily 

1  George  P.  Marsh,  "  The  Earth  as  modified  by  Human  Action," 
1874. 


8  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

remediable ;  when  ill  effects  become  apparent,  the 
inconveniences  may  be  removed  with  but  little 
harm  to  the  community,  and  none  to  mankind  at 
large  or  to  the  future.  But  whether  fertile  lands 
are  turned  into  deserts,  forests  into  waste  places, 
brooks  into  torrents,  rivers  changed  from  means  of 
power  and  intercourse  into  means  of  destruction 
and  desolation  — these  are  questions  which  concern 
the  material  existence  itself  of  society ;  and  since 
such  changes  become  often  irreversible,  the  damage 
irremediable,  and  at  the  same  time  the  extent  of 
available  resources  becomes  smaller  in  proportion 
to  population,  their  consideration  is  finally  much 
more  important  than  those  other  questions  of  the 
day.  Increase  of  population  and  increased  require- 
ments of  civilization  call  for  a  continual  increase  of 
our  total  economic  forces,  and  increased  "  i?ite7isity  " 
in  the  management  of  our  resources ;  and  this  re- 
quires such  continued  care  and  administration,  that 
it  is  not  safe  to  leave  it  entirely  to  the  incentive  of 
private  competition,  which  always  means  wasteful 
use. 

It  is  true  that  as  individuals  the  knowledge  of 
the  near  exhaustion  of  the  anthracite  coal-fields 
does  not  induce  any  of  us  to  deny  ourselves  a  sin- 
gle scuttle  of  coal,  so  as  to  make  the  coal-field  last 
for  one  more  generation,  unless  this  knowledge  is 
reflected  in  increased  price.  But  we  can  conceive 
that,  as  members  of  society,  we  may  for  that  very 
purpose  refuse  to  allow  each  other  or  the  miner  to 


INTRODUCTORY.  9 

waste  unnecessarily.  That  this  conception  is  not 
absurd,  and  may  be  practically  realized  without  any 
strain  in  our  conceptions  of  government  functions, 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  it  has  been  carried  out  in 
practice  in  several  cases,  in  our  country  as  well  as 
in  others,  without  opposition. 

Absurdly  enough  we  have  begun  such  action  with 
reference  to  our  resources  where  it  is  perhaps  of 
least  consequence,  as,  for  instance,  when,  by  the 
estabUshment  of  hunting  and  fishing  seasons  and 
by  other  restrictions,  we  seek  to  prevent  the  exhaus- 
tion of  the  fish  and  game  resources.  This  is  a 
good  illustration  of  the  fact  that  emotion  rather 
than  reason,  sentiment  rather  than  argument,  are 
the  prime  movers  of  society.  It  was  only  partially 
fear  for  the  exhaustion  of  this  readily  restorable 
resource  or  economic  reasons  which  led  to  this  pro- 
tection of  our  fisheries  and  game,  but  love  of  sport 
gave  the  incentive.  And  again,  it  needed  the  love 
of  sport  to  set  on  foot  the  movement  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  roads  in  the  United  States,  which 
the  realization  of  true  economy  had  not  the  power 
to  bring  about. 

While  we  do  not  prevent  single  individuals  from 
ruining  themselves  financially  and  hazarding  the 
future  of  their  families,  we  do  prevent  associated 
portions  of  the  community,  —  corporations,  towns, 
and  cities,  —  from  jeopardizing  their  future  by  pre- 
venting them  from  extravagant  expenditures  and 
contracting  of  debts.     This,   too,  is  perhaps  less 


lO  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

designed  for  the  future,  than  to  protect  present 
members  against  undesirable  burdens. 

There  are,  then,  enough  precedents  established 
to  show  that,  whatever  the  greed  and  selfishness  of 
the  individual  may  dictate,  society  recognizes  its 
right  to  interfere  with  the  individual  in  the  use 
of  resources,  not  only  for  its  present  objects,  but 
even  for  considerations  of  the  future. 

To  recognize  how  far  —  to  what  degree  and  in 
what  manner  —  any  of  the  resources  must  become 
objects  of  national  concern,  it  is  necessary  to  under- 
stand their  relative  significance  for  the  present  and 
for  the  future  development  of  society  or  of  the  par- 
ticular aggregate  of  society  called  a  nation.  From 
this  point  of  view  resources  may  be  classified  under 
four  heads,  namely  :  — 

1.  Resources  inexhaustible. 

2.  Resources  exhaustible  and  non-restorable. 

3.  Resources  restorable,  but  liable  to  deteriora- 
tion under  private  activity. 

4.  Resources  restorable,  yielding  increased  re- 
turns under  increased  activity. 

Of  the  first  class,  hardly  any  can  be  mentioned 
that  are  usually  denominated  as  resources ;  land, 
water,  air,  and  the  forces  of  nature  would  fall 
under  this  class,  but  since  it  is  not  so  much  these 
things  themselves  as  the  conditions  in  which  they 
are  found  that  make  them  resources,  and  since 
these  conditions  are  alterable  by  human  agency, 
their  inexhaustibility  with  reference  to  human  re- 


INTRODUCTORY.  1 1 

quirements  is  not  entirely  established.  With  the 
land  it  is  rather  the  fertility  of  the  soil  that  makes 
it  a  resource,  except  so  far  as  it  serves  for  building 
purposes.  With  the  water,  except  for  the  absolute 
necessity  of  Hfe,  it  is  its  desirable  distribution  — 
terrestrial  and  atmospheric  —  which  constitutes  it  a 
resource  in  the  sense  of  satisfying  human  wants. 

Of  such  resources  as  are  in  time  exhaustible 
without  the  possibility  of  reproduction,  we  may 
mention  the  mines.  The  supply  of  coal,  "the 
bread  of  industries,"  in  Europe  is  calculated  to 
last  not  more  than  three  or  four  centuries,  although 
scarcity  is  expected  long  before  that  time ;  and  in 
our  own  country  we  are  told  that  anthracite  coal 
mines  do  not  promise  more  than  seventy-five  to 
one  hundred  years  of  supply  under  present  methods 
of  working.i  The  silver  and  gold  mines,  upon  the 
basis  of  which  Nevada  became  a  state,  are  said  to 
show  signs  of  exhaustion.  Oil-fields  and  natural 
gas  wells  of  very  recent  discovery  belong  to  this 
class  of  exhaustible  resources.  With  their  con- 
sumption in  satisfying  our  wants,  they  are  de- 
stroyed forever. 

The  timber  of  the  virgin  forest  and  its  game, 
the  water-power  of  the  streams,  largely  dependent 
on  the  conditions  of  the  forest,  the  fisheries,  and 
to  some  extent  the  local    cHmatic  conditions,  are 

1  The  present  output  of  the  anthracite  mines  is  50,000,000 
tons,  and  the  visible  supply  of  the  field  is  estimated  at  a  little  ovei 
5,000,000,000  tons. 


12  ECONOMICS   OF  FORESTRY. 

resources  of  the  third  order,  capable  in  most  in- 
stances of  reproduction  or  restoration  under  human 
care,  after  having  been  deteriorated  by  uneconomic 
exploitation  or  by  change  of  contingent  conditions, 
as  when  brooks  and  rivers  are  lessened  in  volume 
or  else  filled  with  flood-waters  and  debris,  in  con- 
sequence of  forest  destruction. 

The  extensive  and  absolute  destruction  of  forest 
cover  in  Western  Asia  and  portions  of  Eastern 
and  Southern  Europe  has  desolated  vast  regions 
and  transformed  them  into  lifeless  deserts.  Such 
rapine  has  sterihzed  almost  beyond  recovery  the 
once  highly  productive  regions  of  Sicily  and  Al- 
geria ;  and  in  our  own  country  we  can  point  to 
similar  results  already  apparent,  as  in  Wisconsin, 
where  over  4,000,000  acres  have  practically  been 
turned  into  deserts,^  in  Mississippi,^  and  other  por- 
tions of  our  domain,  where  erosion  carries  the  fer- 
tile soil  into  rivers,  occasioning,  in  addition  to  its 
loss,  disturbance  of  favorable  water  stages  and 
expenditures  in  river  and  harbor  bills. 

Even  chmatic  conditions,  —  a  resource  which  we 
have  hardly  yet  appreciated  as  such,  —  it  seems,  can 
be  changed  by  mismanagement  beyond  recovery, 
as  exemplified  by  the  experience  of  France,  where, 
it  is  asserted,  the  cultivation  of  the  olive  has  be- 

1  See  "  Forestry  Conditions  and  Interests  of  Wisconsin,"  Bulletin 
No.  16,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  Division  of  Forestry,  1898. 

2  See  J  W  McGee,  quoted  in  "  Forest  Influences,"  Bulletin  No. 
7,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  Division  of  Forestry,  1894. 


INTRODUCTORY.  I3 

come  impossible  in  the  northern  departments,  due 
to  the  removal  of  forest  cover,  which  furnishes  pro- 
tection against  northern  winds. 

Lastly,  as  resources  restorable  and  yielding  in- 
creased returns  to  increased  activity,  we  would  find 
most  of  those  resources  which  are  the  product  of 
human  labor,  industry,  and  ingenuity :  the  accu- 
mulated wealth,  the  accumulated  educational  fund, 
and  other  conditions  of  civilization,  the  people 
themselves,  capable  of  performing  labor. 

It  might  appear  that,  of  the  natural  resources, 
the  soil  with  its  fertility,  capable  under  intensive 
cultivation  of  increasing  its  yield,  should  be  placed 
here ;  but  when  this  increased  activity  is  unaccom- 
panied by  rational  method,  this  resource,  too,  will 
deteriorate  almost  to  a  degree  where  its  restoration 
is  practically  precluded. 

Altogether,  while  possibility  of  restoration  has 
served  in  our  classification,  the  practicabiHty  of 
such  restoration,  i.e.  the  relation  of  expenditure 
of  energy  and  money  to  the  result,  will  have  to  be 
taken  into  consideration  when  state  activity  with 
regard  to  them  is  to  be  discussed. 

From  yet  another  point  of  view  we  can  distinguish 
between  those  resources,  which  yield  directly  a  tan- 
gible material,  necessaries  or  conveniences  of  life, 
serving  the  purposes  of  gain,  and  which  are,  there- 
fore, objects  of  industrial  enterprise  ;  while  others, 
though  desirable  and  necessary,  serving  indirectly 
for  the  comforts  of  society,  industry,  and  progress 


14  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

of  civilization,  do  not  call  for  the  exertion  of 
private  enterprise  and  offer  no  incentive,  or 
only  an  imperfect  one,  for  private  action,  or  are 
beyond  the  limits  of  control  by  private  individ- 
uals. 

Thus,  if  there  is  the  possibility  of  influencing 
climatic  conditions  by  human  action,  which  is 
doubted  by  some  climatologists  in  defiance  of 
many  patent  facts,  it  would  be  a  matter  of  public 
concern  rather  than  of  private  interest  to  preserve 
favorable  or  improve  unfavorable  conditions.  As 
far  as  the  forest  yields  useful  material  for  the  arts, 
it  is  an  object  of  private  industry  ;  but  when,  by  its 
position  on  a  watershed,  the  forest  becomes  an 
influential  factor  in  the  water  conditions  of  the 
plain,  it  may  still  serve  the  purposes  of  gain  and 
wealth,  which  are  the  objects  of  private  industry, 
but  its  indirect  significance  for  society  at  large 
exceeds  the  private  interest. 

Of  the  proper  condition  of  waterways,  of  navi- 
gation and  transportation,  it  may  be  said,  that 
while  private  interest  may  be  concerned  with  it 
for  private  gain,  public  interest  is  involved  in  it  to 
a  much  greater  extent.  For  private  interest  lies 
only  in  the  direction  of  individual  gain,  while  state 
interest  lies  in  the  direction  of  social  gain,  of  gain 
for  a  larger  number.  Whenever,  therefore,  other 
purposes,  which  do  not  contemplate  the  highest 
profitableness,  are  to  be  subserved,  especially  pur- 
poses which  are  of  interest  to  the  community  at 


INTRODUCTORY.  1 5 

Jarge,  this  class  of  resources  must  become  an  ob- 
ject of  public  economy  by  the  state  or  community. 

Often  it  will  be  a  difficult  task  in  practice  to 
assign  a  particular  resource  to  a  proper  position 
with  regard  to  its  bearing  upon  social  interests,  but 
conservatism,  which  is  the  logical  policy  of  society, 
will  lead  us  in  cases  of  doubt  to  lean  toward  the 
presumption  that  the  interests  of  society  are  more 
likely  to  suffer  than  those  of  the  individual ;  and 
a  mistake  in  curtaihng  private  interests  will  be 
more  easily  corrected  than  a  mistake  in  not  hav- 
ing in  time  guarded  social  interests.  Thus  it  has 
been  urged  against  the  selection  of  forest  areas 
as  state  reserves  for  the  purpose  of  protecting 
watersheds,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  decide 
which  areas  are  necessarily  comprised  in  such 
selection,  without  withdrawing  those  of  simply 
commercial  value.  That  the  widest  construction 
of  the  idea  of  protective  forests  will  be  safer  than 
the  opposite,  and  should  be  the  one  adopted  by 
the  government,  seems  quite  reasonable. 

To  properly  appreciate  the  position  in  any 
given  case,  we  will  have  to  weigh  the  present  and 
future  significance  of  the  resource,  the  likehhood 
of  its  permanence,  and  the  likelihood  of  its  fate 
under  private  treatment,  whence  the  necessity  of 
bringing  it  under  sovereign  control  of  the  state 
and  the  quahty  of  the  control  will  appear. 

That  each  individual  case  will  require  its  own 
consideration  and  adjudication  holds  there  as  well 


l6  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

as  with  legislation  in  reference  to  industrial  action, 
and  the  general  classification  here  attempted  offers 
simply  a  suggestion  as  to  the  general  points  of  view 
from  which  each  case  must  be  considered. 

With  the  conception  of  the  government  before 
us,  as  outlined,  namely,  as  the  instrument  to  secure 
the  possibility  of  not  only  social  life  but  of  social 
progress,  the  representative  of  communal  interests 
as  against  private  interests,  of  the  future  as 
against  the  present,  we  can  get  an  idea  as  to  how 
far  the  providential  functions  of  the  state  are  to  be 
called  into  action. 

The  policy  of  governmental  control  over  water- 
ways, roads,  and  lands  falling  under  the  operation 
of  eminent  domain  is  well  established  in  most  gov- 
ernments. The  ownership  and  management  of 
railways  has  proved  itself  to  be  in  the  interest  of 
society  in  several  countries.  It  should  be  extended 
with  even  more  reason  to  all  exhaustible,  non- 
restorable  resources.  That  in  the  interest  of  soci- 
ety and  of  production  as  well  the  mines  should 
belong  to  the  state  in  order  to  prevent  waste,  we 
may  learn  from  the  actual  experience  of  France, 
where  they  are  state  property,  and  only  the  right 
to  work  them  under  supervision  is  leased  to  private 
individuals. 

Of  the  restorable  resources  it  is  apparent  that, 
with  regard  to  those  which  yield  increased  returns 
to  increased  labor,  the  interests  of  society  and  of 
the  individual  run  on  parallel  lines.     Where  inter- 


INTRODUCTORY.  1 7 

ference  of  the  state  in  their  behalf  exists  it  is  not 
from  providential  reasons.  The  ameliorative  func- 
tions only  are  called  into  requisition.  Whatever 
tends  to  stimulate  private  activity  is  to  be  pro- 
moted, whatever  retards  development  of  intensive 
methods  is  to  be  removed,  by  government.  Indus- 
trial education,  cultural  surveys,  bureaus  of  infor- 
mation, experiment  stations,  and  other  aids  to 
private  enterprise  constitute  the  chief  methods 
of  expressing  state  interest  with  regard  to  these 
resources. 

The  three  great  resources  upon  which  mankind 
is  most  dependent,  and  which,  therefore,  demand 
foremost  attention  of  the  state,  are  the  soil  as  food 
producer,  the  water,  and  the  climatic  conditions. 
The  utilization  of  these  three  prime  resources  by 
agriculture  forms  the  foundation  of  all  other  in- 
dustries, or,  as  Sully  puts  it,  "  Tillage  and  pastur- 
age are  the  two  breasts  of  the  state."  It  is  true 
the  manufacturer  increases  the  utility  of  things, 
but  the  farmer  multiplies  commodities  ;  he  is  crea- 
tive, and  he  therefore  above  all  others  can  claim  a 
right  to  first  consideration  on  the  part  of  the  state. 

The  soil  is  a  valuable  resource  as  far  as  it  is 
fertile  and  capable  of  agricultural  production ;  the 
fertility,  while  Hable  to  deterioration,  can,  with  few 
exceptions,  be  said  to  be  restorable,  and  it  cer- 
tainly yields  increased  returns  to  intelligent  in- 
creased labor.  It  ranks,  therefore,  with  those 
resources  which  can  be  left  to  private  enterprise, 


l8       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

calling  only  for  the  ameliorative  functions  of  the 
government.  But  while  this  condition  prevails 
when  the  soil  is  put  to  agricultural  use,  it  does  not 
exist  as  long  as  the  soil  is  not  so  utilized.  By  the 
withdrawal  of  large  sections  of  land  from  such 
use,  society  is  harmed,  and  deprived  of  the  benefit 
which  it  would  derive  from  the  use  of  its  property. 
The  proper  disposal  and  the  appropriation  of  the 
soil  to  proper  use  form,  therefore,  fit  functions  of 
government  control. 

The  rational  appropriation  of  soil  for  either 
farm  use,  pasturage,  or  timber  production,  one 
would  think,  could  be  left  to  the  regulation  of 
private  intelligence ;  yet  the  fact  is,  that  the  thin, 
rocky  soils  of  mountain  districts  are  worked  for  a 
scanty  agricultural  crop,  when  they  should  be  left 
to  timber  ;  while  thousands  of  acres  in  fertile  val- 
leys are  still  under  the  shade  of  virgin  forests. 

Water  and  climate  are  the  accessories  to  agri- 
cultural production,  and  supplement  the  resources 
of  the  soil.  Not  objects  of  private  enterprise 
directly,  except  in  a  limited  manner,  it  is  evident 
that,  as  far  as  they  or  the  conditions  which  influ- 
ence them  can  be  at  all  controlled,  they  should  be 
under  the  direct  control  of  the  state.  A  rational 
management  of  the  water  capital  of  the  world  in 
connection  with  agricultural  use  of  the  soil  will 
become  the  economic  problem  of  the  highest  im- 
portance as  the  necessity  for  increased  food  pro- 
duction   calls    for    intensive    methods.       And   in 


INTRODUCTORY.  I9 

connection  with  this  problem,  it  must  become  a 
matter  of  state  interest,  by  a  rational  management 
of  existing  forests  and  by  reforestation  at  the  head 
waters  of  rivers  and  on  the  plains,  to  secure  the 
conditions  which  make  a  rational  utilization  of  the 
waters  possible.  For  without  forest  management, 
no  satisfactory  water  management  is  possible  for 
any  length  of  time,  no  stable  basis  for  continued 
productive  agriculture,  industries,  and  commerce ! 

It  is  the  object  of  this  volume  to  elucidate  in 
greater  detail  the  significance  and  character  of  the 
forest  resource,  to  show  its  relationship  to  the  con- 
ditions of  social  life,  to  point  out  the  various 
aspects  from  which  it  can  be  viewed,  with  the  final 
object  of  determining  the  position  which  the  state 
should  take  with  reference  to  it,  based  upon  the 
conception  of  state  functions  as  outlined  in  this 
chapter. 

We  shall  recognize  that  to  the  individual  it  is  the 
timber,  the  accumulated  growth  of  centuries,  which 
is  of  interest,  and  which  he  exploits  for  the  purpose 
of  making  a  profit  on  his  labor  and  outlay  without 
any  interest  in  the  future  of  the  exploited  area. 
The  relation  of  the  forest  to  other  conditions, 
direct  or  indirect,  immediate  or  future,  hardly 
ever  enters  into  his    calculations. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  function  of  the  forest, 
which  it  exercises  as  a  soil  cover  by  preventing  ero- 
sion of  the  soil,  by  regulating  water  flow,  changing 
surface  drainage  into  subsoil  drainage,  and  thereby 


2C       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

influencing  the  water  stages  of  rivers,  and  its 
possible  relation  to  the  local  climatic  conditions, 
preeminently  renders  it  an  object  of  government 
consideration. 

Here  the  general  principle  of  the  Roman  law, 
Utere  tuo  ne  alterum  noceas,  prevention  of  the  ob- 
noxious use  of  private  property,  readily  establishes 
the  propriety  of  state  interference,  and  by  alteriim. 
we  are  to  understand,  not  only  the  other  citizen  of 
the  present,  but  of  the  future  as  well. 

We  will  see,  that  the  forest  resource  is  one  which, 
under  the  active  competition  of  private  enterprise, 
is  apt  to  deteriorate,  and  in  its  deterioration  to 
affect  other  conditions  of  material  existence  unfa- 
vorably ;  that  the  maintenance  of  continued  sup- 
phes  as  well  as  of  favorable  conditions  is  possible 
only  under  the  supervision  of  permanent  institu- 
tions with  whom  present  profit  is  not  the  only 
motive.  It  calls  preeminently  for  the  exercise  of 
the  providential  functions  of  the  state  to  counter- 
act the  destructive  tendencies  of  private  exploita- 
tion. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE   FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE. 

It  may  be  stated  without  fear  of  contradiction 
that  outside  of  food  products  no  material  is  so 
universally  used  and  so  indispensable  in  human 
economy  as  wood.  Indeed,  civilization  is  incon- 
ceivable without  an  abundance  of  timber. 

The  nomad  of  to-day,  who  herds  over  the  treeless 
plains  and  prairies,  is  still  like  the  Scythian  of 
ancient  times ;  his  life,  his  culture,  his  attainments, 
are  no  more  advanced.  The  successful  settlement 
and  civiUzation  of  our  own  treeless  regions  of  the 
West  became  possible  only  through  the  develop- 
ment of  means  for  the  transportation  of  this  most 
needful  material.  So  general  and  far-reaching 
has  its  use  become  that  a  wood  famine,  however 
improbable  its  occurrence,  would  be  almost  as 
serious  as  a  bread  famine.  We  may  become  less 
wasteful,  both  as  regards  food  and  wood,  but  the 
necessity  of  wood,  as  far  as  we  can  foresee  at 
present,  will  always  be  second  only  to  the  neces- 
sity of  food,  and  far  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
material  used  in  the  arts. 

The  necessity  to  us  of  any  material  depends  on 
the  extent  and  nature  of  its  use,  and  on  the  possi- 

21 


22  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

bility  of  replacing  it  by  other  materials.  If  we 
regard  the  chair  we  sit  on,  the  table  we  eat  from, 
the  paper  we  write  on,  as  Jiecessities,  it  is  fair  to 
say  that  over  99  per  cent  of  all  wood  is  used  in 
supplying  real  wants,  while  less  than  i  per  cent 
is  used  to  furnish  luxuries,  such  as  fancy  articles, 
carvings,  and  other  decorations.  But  even  if  only 
the  use  of  wood  as  fuel,  for  the  construction  of 
shelter  for  man  and  goods,  for  the  building  of 
bridges  and  harbors,  for  purposes  of  transportation, 
agriculture,  mining,  and  manufacture,  is  considered 
as  necessary  in  distinction  to  unnecessary  or  luxu- 
rious uses,  it  may  still  be  asserted  that  there  is 
more  than  95  per  cent  in  bulk  or  weight  thus 
consumed. 

Our  civilization  is  built  on  wood.  From  the 
cradle  to  the  coffin,  in  some  shape  or  other,  it 
surrounds  us  as  a  convenience  or  a  necessity. 
It  enters  into  nearly  all  our  structures  as  an  es- 
sential part.  Over  half  our  people  live  in  wooden 
houses,  and  the  houses  of  the  other  half  require 
wood  as  an  indispensable  part  in  their  construc- 
tion. It  serves  to  ornament  them,  to  furnish  them 
with  conveniences,  to  warm  them,  to  cook  the  food. 
Myre  than  two-thirds  of  our  people  use  wood  as 
fuel,  and  until  recent  times  it  was  the  only  or  prin- 
cipal means  of  melting  the  ores  and  shaping  the 
metals  with  which  to  fashion  the  wood  itself  (see 
Appendix).  For  every  hundred  tons  of  coal  mined, 
two  tons  of  mining  timber  are  needed,  and  wood 


THE    FOREST  AS   A    RESOURCE.  23 

in  large  quantities  is  needed  to  mine  our  metals. 
Every  pound  of  iron,  every  ounce  of  gold,  requires 
wood  in  its  mining,  wood  in  its  manufacture,  wood 
in  its  transportation.  There  is  hardly  a  utensil,  a 
tool,  or  even  a  machine,  in  the  construction  of 
which  wood  has  not  played  a  part,  were  it  only 
to  furnish  the  handle  or  the  mould  or  pattern. 

The  articles,  useful  or  ornamental,  made  wholly 
or  in  part  of  wood,  are  innumerable.  Our  houses 
are  filled  with  them,  our  daily  occupations  necessi- 
tate them  wherever  we  are.  For  our  means  of  trans- 
portation we  rely  mainly  on  wood.  Our  260,000 
miles  of  railroad  track  (190,000  miles  railroad), 
the  carriers  of  civiHzation,  lie  on  not  less  than 
700,000,000  of  wooden  ties  and  need  140,000,000 
annually  for  renewals ;  ^  they  run  over  more  than 
2000  miles  of  wooden  trestles  and  bridges,  they 
carry  their  passengers  and  freight  in  over  1,000,000 
wooden  cars,  and  much  of  the  millions  of  tons  of 
freight  is  shipped  in  wooden  boxes  and  barrels,  and 

1  This  drain  on  our  forest  resources  for  railroad  ties  or  sleepers, 
which  requires  a  wasteful  use  of  our  most  durable  timbers,  is  gradu- 
ally being  reduced  by  preservative  processes  which  lengthen  the 
"life"  of  ties,  and  it  bids  fair  to  be  soon  avoided  by  the  use  of 
metal  ties,  which,  except  in  initial  cost,  have  proved  themselves 
superior  in  all  other  respects.  Their  use  is  long  past  thp  experi- 
mental stage  in  other  countries,  there  being,  in  1894,  not  less  than 
35,000  miles,  or  9  per  cent,  of  total  track  lying  on  metal,  while  the 
cheap  initial  cost  of  wooden  ties  in  the  United  States  has  retarded 
their  use  here.  Very  exhaustive  reports  on  the  metal  tie  question 
were  published  by  the  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  Division  of  For- 
estry, in  Bulletin  No.  4,  1889,  and  Bulletin  No.  9,  1894. 


24       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

stored  in  wooden  sheds.  Ten  million  telegraph 
poles  are  needed  to  keep  up  communication  be- 
tween distant  markets. 

The  forest  furnishes  the  cooperage  to  market 
our  vintage,  to  store  our  flour  and  fruit.  The 
forest  furnishes  the  plough  handle  and  harrow 
frame  to  cultivate,  the  threshing  machine  and 
windmill  to  prepare  the  crops,  the  cart  to  bring 
them  to  market,  the  bottoms  in  which  they  cross 
the  ocean  to  foreign  marts,  and  even  the  tar  and 
pitch  needed  to  keep  the  cargo  safe.  While  iron 
ships  have  largely  replaced  the  wooden  bottoms  in 
ocean  travel,  our  coastwise  and  inland  shipping, 
which  requires  a  tonnage  twice  as  large  as  the 
transatlantic  trade,  is  carried  mostly  in  wooden 
ships.^  We  are  rocked  in  wooden  cradles,  play 
with  wooden  toys,  sit  on  wooden  chairs  and  benches, 
eat  from  wooden  tables,  use  wooden  desks,  chests, 
trunks,  are  entertained  by  music  from  wooden  in- 
struments, enlightened  by  information  printed  on 
wooden  paper  with  black  ink  made  from  wood,  and 
even  eat  our  salads  seasoned  with  vinegar  made 
from  wood. 

1  According  to  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Navigation, 
there  were  in  the  merchant  marine  of  the  United  States  in  the  year 
1900,  2,507,042  tons  of  sailing  vessels,  practically  all  of  wood,  and 
2,657,797  tons  of  steam  vessels,  of  which,  undoubtedly,  a  large 
part  was  in  wooden  hulls,  besides  over  4,000,000  tons  unrigged 
vessels,  wooden  barges,  etc.,  permitting  the  above  estimate.  During 
the  year  1900,  1447  vessels,  with  a  tonnage  of  393,790,  were  built, 
of  which  only  half  the  tonnage  was  of  iron  and  steel. 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE.  25 

The  uses  of  wood,  multifarious  now,  are  con- 
stantly  increasing.^  With  the  manufacture  of  wood 
pulp  and  cellulose,  an  entirely  new  direction  of  use 
has  been  opened ;  originally  designed  to  furnish  a 
cheap  substitute  for  linen  paper,  its  application  in 
many  ways  is  growing  daily,  and  promises  for  the 
future  the  largest  drain  on  our  forest  resources, 
the  manufacture  of  wood  pulp  having  increased 
more  than  threefold  in  the  last  ten  years  (see 
Appendix).  -  asrrr:;;^ 

To  give  briefly  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  our  own 
wood  consumption,  we  may  say  that,  if  5  persons 
are  counted  to  a  family,  each  family  in  the  United 
States  uses  on  an  average  about  2000  cubic  feet  or 
about  80,000  pounds  of  dry  wood  per  year,  the 
annual  product  of  at  least  50  acres  of  forest. 

The  reasons  for  this  universal  and  varied  appli- 
cation of  wood  may  be  found  in  several  directions. 
In  the  first  place,  the  general  occurrence  of  forest 
growth  and  the  ease  with  which  wood  could  be 
obtained  and  shaped  directly  to  the  purpose  in 
hand  made  it  naturally  the  material  of  earlier 
civilizations,  but  there  are  certain  qualities  in 
addition  which  will  make  its  use  always  desirable, 
if  not  necessary.  In  the  combination  of  strength, 
stiffness,  elasticity,  and  relatively  light  weight,  it 
excels  all  other  known  materials.  Not  only  is  a 
stick  of  long  leaf  pine  superior  in  strength  to  one 
of  wrought  iron  of  the  same  weight,  but  employed 
as  a  beam  it  will  bear  without  bending  a  load  six  to 


D.  H.  HILL  LIBRARY 


26  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

eight  times  as  great  as  an  iron  bar  of  the  same 
length  and  weight.  Moreover,  the  wooden  beam 
will  endure  greater  distortion  than  the  metals  with- 
out receiving  a  "  set  "  or  permanent  injury. 

The  ease  with  which  it  can  be  shaped  and  keeps 
its  shape,  the  softness  and  yet  unchangeableness,  its 
non-conductivity  of  heat,  of  electricity,  which  makes 
its  use  more  comfortable  than  that  of  metals,  in 
addition,  its  light  specific  weight  and  many  other 
quaHties,  recommend  it  for  many  purposes  in  pref- 
erence to  other  materials. 

But  above  all  things  its  cheapness  recommends  it, 
—  we  are  paying  now,  leaving  out  fancy  woods,  at 
the  most  60  cents  per  cubic  foot  for  the  best  wood, 
shaped,  as  against  ^5  to  $10  per  cubic  foot  for  iron 
in  sheets  or  bars.  Moreover,  it  is  the  only  material 
of  construction  which  we  can  produce  and  repro- 
duce at  will,  while  we  know  that  most  other  mate- 
rials now  in  use  must  be  sooner  or  later  exhausted. 

Other  materials  have  displaced  wood  in  some 
uses,  but  other  uses  have  arisen  for  wood,  and  often 
the  substitutes  have  again  been  displaced  by  wood, 
when  its  superiority  or  pecuUar  qualities  have  been 
more  fully  recognized.  Even  in  such  nicely  bal- 
anced structures  as  the  bicycle,  for  which  metal 
seemed  the  only  proper  material,  wood  has  proved 
itself  superior,  at  least  in  certain  parts. 

A  remarkable  instance  of  this  return  to  the  use 
of  wood  instead  of  metal  is  that  for  factory  and 
warehouse  construction  in  order  to  reduce  danger 


THE    FOREST   AS   A    RESOURCE.  27 

from  fire,  it  having  been  found  that  in  case  of  fire 
iron  beams  and  posts  are  twisted  out  of  shape  by 
the  heat,  causing  the  collapse  of  the  whole  build- 
ing, while  with  wooden  posts  and  beams  the  chances 
of  keeping  the  walls  intact  are  much  greater. 

Coal  has  largely  displaced  wood  as  fuel,  yet  ac- 
cording to  the  census  of  1880  more  than  half  of 
our  population  relied  still  on  wood  for  fuel,  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  proportion 
has  changed  measurably.  In  fact,  if  we  may  be 
allowed  to  consider  the  figures  of  the  census  of 
1880  still  proportionately  true,  as  far  as  bulk  is 
concerned,  our  fuel  consumption  represents  about 
three-fourths  of  our  total  wood  consumption,  and 
even  in  value  this  part  represents  nearly  one-half 
of  our  entire  enormous  consumption  of  forest  prod- 
ucts, and  exceeds  in  bulk  more  than  ten  times  the 
iron  and  steel  handled  in  this  country. 

Very  interesting  statistics  regarding  the  displace- 
ment of  wood  by  coal  in  Germany  show  that  from 
the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  when  coal  began 
to  be  generally  used  as  fuel,  the  consumption  of 
wood  increased  in  the  same  proportionate  rate  as 
the  consumption  of  coal. 

The  development  of  the  cellulose  and  wood  pulp 
industry,  with  the  consequent  extension  in  the  use 
of  paper  made  from  this  material  for  all  kinds  of 
purposes  where  elasticity  and  durability  combined 
with  strength  and  lightness  is  demanded,  from 
collars  and  cuffs  and  combs   to  car   wheels,  has 


28        ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

given  new  and  constantly  growing  employment  to 
wood. 

Considering,  moreover,  the  very  extensive  and  the 
very  varied  employment  of  wood,  it  will  be  appar- 
ent that  substitution  by  other  materials  cannot  be 
readily  accomplished  and  means  inconvenience, 
and,  in  many  cases,  decrease  of  comfort.  Hence 
large  wood  supplies  are,  and  unquestionably  will 
continue  to  be,  an  indispensable  requirement  of 
our  civilization,  almost  like  water,  air,  and  food. 

Besides  wood  supplies,  the  forest  furnishes  other 
materials  of  no  small  value.  Of  these,  two  classes 
at  least  give  rise  to  industries  of  considerable  ex- 
tent, namely  the  tanning  industry  and  the  naval 
store  industry. 

The  bark  of  certain  trees,  notably  the  hemlock 
and  the  oaks  among  our  native  species,  contain  the 
chemical  compounds  known  as  tannic  acids,  which 
serve  for  the  manufacture  of  leather.  The  fact 
that  this  property  of  the  bark  has  made  the  value 
of  the  same  to  exceed  by  far  the  value  of  the  wood 
itself,  especially  as  it  is  easier  to  transport  the 
former,  has  led  to  an  enormous  waste  of  useful 
wood  material,  the  trees,  in  mountainous  regions 
especially,  having  been  peeled  and  left  to  rot  in 
the  woods ;  and  in  certain  mountain  regions  diffi- 
cult of  access  this  waste  still  continues. 

Thus  1,500,000  cords  of  tan  bark  worth  about 
$10,000,000,  which  we  use  annually,  entailed  for- 
merly a  sacrifice  of  nearly  1000  feet  of  lumber  per 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE.  29 

cord  of  bark ;  of  this  now  probably  the  larger  part 
is  saved. 

Lately,  too,  it  has  been  found  that  the  wood  itself 
of  some  species  yields  paying  quantities  of  tannin, 
which  can  be  and  are  being  extracted  by  special 
processes,  thus  again  widening  the  field  of  useful- 
ness of  the  wood  article  itself;  while  the  metallic 
substitutes  for  tannins  have  so  far  not  been  able  to 
displace  the  same  to  any  great  extent. 

The  naval  store  industry,  concerned  in  extract- 
ing from  the  living  trees  of  certain  kinds  of  pine,- 
especially  the  Southern  long  leaf  pine,  and  from 
other  species,  the  resinous  contents,  and  by  distilla- 
tion obtaining  turpentine,  rosin  of  various  kinds, 
and  tar,  is  indebted  to  the  forest  to  the  extent  of 
about  $8,000,000  per  year  in  our  country.^  This 
industry  could  be  carried  on  without  any  direct 
injury  to  the  wood  product,  provided  the  utilization 
of  the  trees  followed  at  once  the  operations  of  the 
turpentine  gatherer ;  but  under  the  neglectful 
methods  pursued,  with  fires  sweeping  through  the 
woods,  the  scarred  trees  are  to  a  large  extent  either 
burnt  beyond  usefulness,  or  injured  by  fungus  and 
insects  and  laid  low  by  wind  storms,  so  that  here 
again  is  an  enormous  and  largely  unnecessary  loss  to 
the  forest  resources,  entailed  in  this  industry.  Here 
too,  of  late,  improvement  is  observed,  the  sawmiller 
following  more  closely  the  turpentine  gatherer. 

1  In  1899  the  value  reported  by  the  census  was  over  ^20,000,000, 
as  against  the  above  figure  for  1889. 


30  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

A  similar  industry  is  the  tapping  of  the  maple 
for  sugar,  which  is  pecuHar  to  the  United  States, 
producing,  with  over  50,000,000  pounds  of  sugar 
and  3,000,000  gallons  of  syrup,  values  to  the  extent 
of  $6,000,000  annually. 

Finally,  by  distillation  of  the  wood  itself  and 
condensing  of  the  gaseous  products,  considerable 
amounts  of  wood  alcohol,  wood  vinegar,  and  ace- 
tates, creosote  and  other  tar  oils  useful  in  the  arts, 
are  derived,  adding  another  $3,000,000  or  more  to 
the  annual  revenue  furnished  by  our  forest  resource. 

In  addition  to  these  materials,  which  come  from 
the  tree  growth  itself,  there  are  many  useful  things 
growing  in  the  forest,  which  in  our  country  have 
hardly  yet  attained  the  dignity  of  industrial  devel- 
opment ;  although  the  distillation  of  wintergreen 
oil  from  birch  brush  and  the  gathering  of  ginseng 
occupy  quite  a  number  of  people  industrially,  while 
the  huckleberry  and  cranberry  crops  furnish  con- 
siderable additions  to  the  fruit  supply  of  gardens 
and  orchards. 

How  much  may  be  obtained  from  the  careful 
use  of  these  by-products  of  the  forest  may  be  seen 
from  the  statement  that  in  the  Prussian  state  forests 
the  revenues  for  1 894-1 895  were:  — 

For  wood  ....  $  14,500,000 
For  by-products  .  .  .  1,000,000 
For  game  .....  90,000 

It  is  seen  that  the    by-products    furnished  about 
7  per  cent  of  the  total  income. 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE.  31 

In  one  small  village  of  Pomerania  (Prussia), 
the  amount  paid  for  huckleberries  which  the 
poor  population  gathers  in  the  forest  amounts  to 
^20,000  or  $30,000  a  year.  In  another  small 
forest  district  it  is  calculated  that  the  berry  and 
mushroom  harvests  represent  to  the  gatherers  an 
annual  income  of  $22,500,  showing  that  even  the 
revenues  derived  from  the  minor  products  of  the 
forest  may  attain  a  considerable  economic  signifi- 
cance. 

What  relative  position  from  the  standpoint  of 
wealth  production  the  forest  resources  and  their 
exploitation  take  in  the  household  of  the  nation 
may  best  be  learned  from  a  comparison  with  other 
sources  of  wealth  and  their  production,  considering 
the  revenues  from  the  different  forms  of  wealth,  the 
capital  invested,  the  value  of  product,  the  number 
of  people  employed,  and  the  wages  paid.  Unfor- 
tunately for  such  comparisons  the  data  are,  at 
least  in  our  own  country,  but  unsatisfactory, 
since  the  statistics  of  an  industry  like  the  forest 
industries,  which  are  largely  removed  from  centres 
of  production,  and  in  which  a  large  number  of 
people  are  occupied  only  occasionally  and  for 
parts  of  the  year,  are  necessarily  deficient  and 
must  remain  below  the  truth  to  an  uncertain 
extent. 

It  is,  for  instance,  impracticable  to  ascertain  the 
amounts  of  wood  cut  and  used  on  farms  for  home 
consumption,  or  to  apportion  the  employment  of 


32       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

labor  in  this  home  exploitation.  In  addition,  the 
values  of  a  material  which  on  account  of  its  bulki- 
ness  is  only  to  a  limited  degree  object  of  the  world 
trade,  are  but  little  influenced  by  the  world's  de- 
mand, and  dependent  much  more  than  food  sup- 
plies on  home  demand  only ;  and  hence  the  values 
of  such  material  as  wood  are  at  a  disadvantage,  or 
at  least  on  a  different  footing,  when  compared  with 
other  export  materials. 

While  the  value  of  the  raw  forest  products  con- 
sumed every  year  in  the  United  States  at  places  of 
consumption,  roughly  shaped  for  further  use,  may 
be  placed  at  $600,000,000,  this  is  enhanced  by  their 
further  manufacture  to  over  $1,200,000,000,  thus 
making  the  result  of  the  forest  industries  second 
only  to  those  of  agriculture,  the  value  of  whose 
products  reached  in  the  census  year  (1890)  nearly 
$2,500,000,000,  while  the  total  production  of  metals 
which  could  in  any  way  replace  wood  —  gold  and  sil- 
ver and  iron  included — reached  only  $270,000,000, 
and  the  entire  mining  industry  (quarries  and  every 
kind  of  mineral  or  earthy  product  included)  but 
little  over  $600,000,000.  (See  Appendix  for  details. ) 

Although  the  forest  industries  are  carried  on 
with  proportionately  small  capital,  over  $560,000,- 
000  were  invested  in  the  mere  exploiting  and  first 
preparation  of  the  material  in  the  lumber  business, 
while  another  $900,000,000  are  employed  in  manu- 
factures which  rely  either  entirely,  or  to  an  extent 
of  over  one-third  of  their  product,  on  wood. 


THE    FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE.  33 

Of  the  total  value  of  manufactured  products, 
aggregating  nearly  ;^  10,000,000,000  worth  in  the 
census  year  1890,  17  per  cent  is  to  be  credited  to 
the  forest  resource,  and  nearly  20  per  cent  of  the 
capital  invested,  of  labor  employed,  and  of  wages 
paid  in  all  manufactures. 

In  addition  to  the  capital  and  labor  involved  in 
the  exploitation  of  the  forest,  we  have  to  consider 
the  large  but  indeterminable  amount  of  labor  in- 
volved in  the  transportation  of  the  material  from 
points  of  manufacture,  which  adds  to  the  eco- 
nomic importance  of  these  industries  in  the  same, 
in  perhaps  greater  proportion,  than  other  indus- 
tries. 

So  large  is  the  money  value  resulting  from  the 
mere  conversion  of  the  products  of  our  wood- 
lands that  it  equals  at  present  annually  a  2  per 
cent  dividend  on  the  entire  wealth  of  the  nation 
(^65,000,000,000,  according  to  census  in  1890). 
TJiis  dividend,  to  be  sure,  is  unforttinately  largely 
paid,  not  from  surplusage,  but  from  capital  stock, 
and  a  future  generation  will  have  to  make  good 
the  deficiency. 

One  very  important  factor  often  overlooked  by 
laymen  in  appreciating  the  economic  value  of  the 
forest  resources  of  a  country  is  the  fact,  that  it 
is  not  wood  simply  that  is  wanted,  but  wood  of 
certain  quality  useful  for  given  purposes.  A 
country  may  be  well  covered  with  woodlands  and 
yet  lack  those  valuable  kinds  of  woods  which  lend 


34       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

themselves  readily  to  the  everyday  uses  of  civil- 
ized life. 

Again,  it  may  be  well  supplied  with  valuable 
kinds,  but  these  are  found  so  scattered  among 
the  less  valuable  growth,  the  tree  weeds,  that 
their  exploitation  becomes  cumbersome  and  ex- 
pensive. 

Thus  we  see  Brazil  and  other  South  American 
countries,  and  Australia,  in  spite  of  their  extensive 
forest  areas,  come  to  the  United  States  for  their 
lumber  supplies,  lacking  as  they  do  the  soft,  easily 
worked,  yet  strong  and  elastic  coniferous  kinds, 
which  are  par  excellence  the  materials  of  construc- 
tion. 

Again,  the  valuable  hardwoods  of  those  coun- 
tries, possessing  excellent  qualities,  besides  their 
beauty,  for  which  alone  we  use  them  at  present, 
will  never  be  able  to  compete  or  supplant  our  own 
materials,  for  they  occur  in  single  individuals  scat- 
tered among  hundreds  of  other  species,  so  that  to 
supply  any  considerable  quantity  of  any  one  kind 
requires  culling  over  many  acres,  which  renders 
them  too  expensive  for  general  use. 

There  is  therefore  nothing  but  ignorance  in  the 
comfortable  ideas  of  those  who  look  forward  to 
a  supply  of  wood  from  those  countries  when  our 
own  supplies  give  out. 

A  proposition  to  secure  statistics  of  the  produc- 
tive forest  area  and  timber  supplies  of  the  world 
ready  for  the  axe,  and  of  the  consumption  by  the 


THE   POOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE. 


35 


population,  was  brought  before  the  International 
Forestry  Congress  at  Paris,  in  1900.  The  attempt 
to  secure  such  statistics  in  any  way  reliable  is 
almost  hopeless,  when  we  cannot  even  in  our  own 
country  get  more  than  the  roughest  approxima- 
tions ;  moreover,  even  if  it  were  possible  to  secure 
some  approximate  figures,  as  long  as  there  are  no 
attempts  at  management  of  the  resource,  the  knowl- 
edge would  not  be  worth  the  expense  it  would  en- 
tail to  gather  it,  since  the  conditions  would  change 
without  record  being  kept,  hence  the  value  of  the 
figures  would  be  most  ephemeral. 

A  rough  approximation  would  bring  out  the  fol- 
lowing condition  of  the  earth's  surface,  from  which 
at  least  the  potential  forest  area,  that  which,  under 
natural  conditions,  did  or  does  or  is  able  to  produce 
timber  forest,  can  be  estimated  :  — 

Percentic  Distribution  of  Land  Area 


Potential  and 

actual  forest 

soils. 

Prairie. 

Plains  and 
Barrens. 

North  America  .     .     , 
South  America  .     .     . 

Europe 

Asia 

Africa 

Australia 

In  billion  acres  .     .     . 

45 
78 
84 

45 
60 

37 

60% 

18 

5 

12 
10 

3 
12 

38 
7% 
2 

50 
ID 

6 

52 
28 

25 

10 

36 


ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 


One-third  of  the  land  area,  then,  is  incapable 
of  forest  growth  {iiot  tree  growth),  7  per  cent  is 
unfitted  for  it,  and  60  per  cent  must  be  divided 
between  farm  and  forest.  How  much  is  actually 
wooded  it  is  impossible  even  to  estimate,  and 
how  much  contains  available  wood  supplies,  still 
less  so. 

The  world's  requirement  of  wood  materials  may 
be  estimated  as  follows,  actual  figures  and  statistics 
in  some  cases  allowing  reasonable  approximations, 
but  lacking,  of  course,  for  all  oriental  countries, 
Africa,  Australia,  South  America,  any  tangible 
basis :  for  these,  therefore,  merely  allowances  by 
guess  are  made  :  — 


Inhabitants, 
millions. 

Wood  Ri;quirement. 

Per 
capita, 
cu.  ft. 

Total 
million 
cu.  ft. 

Of  which 
ft.  B.M. 
million. 

Per  capita, 
ft.  B.M. 

North  America      . 
Europe    .... 
All  other  countries, 

80 

360 

1,160 

300 
40 
19 

2,400 
1,440 
2,200 

40,000 

22,000 

4,500 

500 
60 
4 

This,  for  the  1,600,000,000  inhabitants,  would 
average  about  38  cubic  feet  per  capita,  of  wood  of 
all  descriptions,  of  which  6  to  7  cubic  feet  are  saw 
material  equivalent  to  40  feet  board  measure. 

The  following  countries  furnish  about  the  fol- 
lowing quota  of  the  saw  material :  — 


THE   FOREST   AS  A   RESOURCE.  37 

Million  feet, 

b.m/ 

United  States 37,ooo 

Russia l2,ooo 

Austria 3>500 

Germany 3,ooo 

Canada 3,ooo 

Sweden  and  Norway        .....  2,000 

China  and  Japan 2,000 

France 1,500 

South  America 1,000 

India 500 

All  others 1,000 

66,500 

The  use  of  wood  per  capita  in  the  United  States, 
with  about  350  cubic  feet,  exceeds  that  of  all  other 
civilized  nations ;  nearly  one-quarter  of  this  wood,  or 
85  cubic  feet,  is  log  material  (100  cubic  feet  log  ma- 
terial may  be  roughly  figured  as  producing  600  feet 
B.M.  sawed  material),  while  England,  importing 
nearly  all  her  requirements,  can  get  along  with  about 
1 3  cubic  feet  of  log  material,  and  Germany  with  a 
consumption  of  43  cubic  feet  of  wood  per  capita, 
of  which  1 5  cubic  feet  is  log  material.  Both  these 
countries.  Great  Britain  importing  practically  all 
and  Germany  over  25  per  cent  of  her  needs,  would 
indicate  that  a  civihzed  nation  in  a  northern  coun- 
try requires  between  12  and  15  cubic  feet  of  log 
material.  Outside  of  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
which  export  280,000,000  cubic  feet,  the  countries 
which  cut  more  than  they  consume  are  Russia  with 
420,000,000,  Austria  with  240,000,000,  Norway  and 


38  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

Sweden  with  400,000,000  cubic  feet ;  these  export- 
ing countries,  with  additional  small  exportations 
from  India  and  South  America,  supply  the  1,400,- 
000,000  cubic  feet  which  Europe  imports,  and  for 
which  she  pays  ^200,000,000. 

For  the  United  States  the  available  timber  ready 
for  the  axe  has  been  estimated  variously  at  from 
1,380,000,000,000  to  2,300,000,000,000  feet  B.M., 
corresponding  to  35  to  50  years'  requirements, 
which,  if  only  a  distant  approach  to  the  truth,  im- 
presses the  need  of  careful  husbanding  and  attention 
to  reproduction. 1 

If  one  would  wish  to  know  what  the  needs  of  a 
people  for  wood  supplies  is  (when  there  is  no  ex- 
travagance permissible,  and  when  every  stick  is 
used  down  to  the  brush,  and  when  coal  is  not  so 
plentiful  as  to  supplant  all  firewood),  the  figures 
for  Germany,  which  possesses  unusually  good  sta- 
tistics to  make  such  calculation  possible,  furnish  a 
good  basis. 

Its  50,000,000  people  live  on  133,000,000  acres 
of  land,  —  I  on  2|  acres  as  against  i  on  26  acres  in 
the  United  States,  —  hence  forest  growth  is  mostly 
confined  to  the  poorer  soils,  which  are  not  fit  for 
agriculture.  From  their  35,000,000  acres  of  such 
forest  growth  —  |  acres  per  person  —  the  Germans 

1  Many  foolish  assertions  regarding  existing  wood  supplies  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  which  are  rehearsed  by  pseudo-statis- 
ticians to  show  inexhaustible  supplies,  are  not  worthy  of  considera- 
tion. 


THE    FOREST   AS   A    RESOURCE.  39 

take  mostly  only  the  annual  accumulations,  striv- 
ing to  keep  their  stock,  or  wood  capital,  intact  and 
in  good  reproductive  condition.  The  annual  cut 
amounts  to  1,870,000,000  cubic  feet  of  all  sorts 
and  sizes,  or  53  cubic  feet  per  acre,  of  which,  how- 
ever, only  27  per  cent,  or  round  500,000,000  cubic 
feet,  is  of  size  fit  for  manufactures.  These  amounts 
are,  however,  not  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  popu- 
lation ;  and  hence,  although  some  48,000,000  cubic 
feet  of  wood  and  woodenware,  worth  $26,700,000, 
are  exported,  over  305,000,000  cubic  feet  of  wood 
and  wood  articles,  worth  $53,500,000,  are  imported  ; 
so  that  nearly  10  per  cent  of  the  total  consumption 
comes  from  outside,  not  counting  much  wood  that 
forms  part  of  manufactures  imported,  like  pianos, 
wagons,  etc. 

We  have  then  here  a  consumption  of  43  cubic 
feet  per  capita,  of  which  15  cubic  feet  is  sizable 
material,  and  the  value  would  figure  to  little  less 
than  $3  per  capita,  or  say  $150,000,000  is  the  wood 
bill  of  these  economical  people  annually,  as  against 
7  times  that  amount,  which  we  spend.  If  you  ask 
as  to  relative  cost  or  price  of  these  wood  materials, 
one  interesting  fact  stands  out,  namely,  that  while 
the  value  of  their  imports  is  $141  per  ton,  the  value 
of  their  exports  is  $255  per  ton;  in  other  words, 
Germany  is  careful  to  export  more  manufactured 
and  high-priced  material  than  she  imports ;  thus, 
the  exported  lumber  and  wood  brings  her  32  cents 
per  cubic  foot,  while  she  pays  only  23  cents  for  the 


40  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

imported  wood.  Again,  the  exported  wood  manu- 
factures bring  her  at  the  rate  of  1^4.20  per  cubic 
foot,  while  she  pays  only  $2.40  for  the  imported 
ware.  We,  on  the  other  hand,  export  twice  as 
much  as  we  import,  and  that  mostly  raw  materials, 
namely,  twice  as  much  in  value  of  raw  materials  as 
of  manufactures,  and  by  so  much  decimating  our 
resources,  which  we  exploit  beyond  their  power  of 
reproduction. 

The  temperate  zones  are  the  favored  ones  in 
that  they  abound  not  only  in  a  variety  of  woods 
which  are  most  readily  turned  to  use  in  all  the 
various  directions  in  which  wood  is  required  in  our 
civilization,  but  the  most  useful  ones  occur  more  or 
less  gregariously,  so  that  their  exploitation  can  be 
most  readily  and  cheaply  accomplished.  This  is 
especially  the  case  with  the  conifers,  spruces,  firs, 
redwoods,  and  above  all,  the  pines,  which  cover 
large  areas  exclusively  or  nearly  so,  and  excel  in 
the  combination  of  desirable  qualities  all  other  ma- 
terials, so  that  without  them  our  civilization  would 
be  badly  crippled.  Of  the  enormous  yearly  lum- 
ber consumption  in  the  United  States,  amounting 
nearly  to  40,000,000,000  feet  of  board  measure 
(enough  to  make  a  plank  walk  300  feet  wide  around 
the  world,  or  floor  over  entirely  the  states  of  Dela- 
ware and  Rhode  Island),  the  conifers  furnish  more 
than  I  and  the  pines  alone  \ ;  and  again  the  white 
pine  of  the  lake  states  furnishes  |  of  this  half,  giv- 
ing to  these  supplies  of  one  species  an  economic 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE.  41 

significance  beyond  all  others.  The  amount  of  vir- 
gin coniferous  material  standing  ready  for  the  axe 
amounts,  probably,  to  less  than  1,500,000,000,000 
feet. 

This  lumber  consumption,  to  be  sure,  represents 
only  one-quarter  of  our  wood  consumption ;  but  it 
is  the  important  part,  to  supply  which  trees  of  large 
size,  of  good  form,  of  special  quality,  must  be  on 
hand,  and  which  it  has  taken  a  century  or  more  to 
produce,  —  most  of  our  lumber  is  furnished  at  pres- 
ent by  trees  over  200  years  old.  The  other  three- 
quarters  of  our  consumption,  for  firewood  and  small 
dimensions,  can  be  easily  supplied  from  inferior 
material,  the  offal  of  the  lumber  trees  and  young 
growth,  although  at  present  much  body  wood  is 
still  cut  into  billets  for  firewood. 

The  layman,  who  has  no  experience  with  the 
requirements  and  practice  of  lumber  production, 
can  hardly  realize  what  a  small  percentage  of  the 
actual  wood  in  a  tree  or  an  acre  of  forest  growth 
reappears  in  useful  shape  from  the  sawmill.  Not 
only  is  a  large  part  of  the  tree  in  the  virgin  woods 
often  altogether  unfit  for  sawing,  being  crooked  or 
knotty  or  rotten  or  windshaken,  but  the  unavoidable 
waste  at  the  mill  in  shaping  the  material  reduces 
the  output  by  at  least  one-third  to  two-thirds 
of  the  contents  of  the  logs  that  are  placed  before 
the  saw.  That  this  mill  waste  increases  rapidly 
with  the  reduction  in  size  of  the  log  will  become  a 
significant  fact,  when  the  heavy  sizes  of  the  virgin 


.<'  )h-^ 


42        ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

forest  are  exhausted  and  smaller  sizes  must  satisfy 
our  demands. 

It  is,  then,  not  woodlands,  not  the  area  of  wooded 
country,  which  has  a  meaning  as  far  as  material 
forest  resources  are  concerned,  but  the  composition 
and  condition  of  the  timber  on  that  area  determines 
its  value. 

Thus  nearly  50  per  cent  of  Massachusetts  is  cov- 
ered with  a  wood  growth,  but  the  lumber  product 
of  that  state  would  not  suffice  to  supply  the  needs 
of  one-tenth  of  its  population.  Not  only  is  there 
hardly  any  lumber  to  be  found  ready  for  the  axe, 
but  the  percentage  of  growth  capable  of  produc- 
ing desirable  material  is  exceedingly  small. 

Thousands  of  square  miles  in  the  United  States 
are  in  similar  condition ;  they  are  woodlands,  but 
the  composition  and  condition  of  the  forest  growth 
is  such  as  to  have  no  significance  as  regards  lumber 
supply  for  the  present  and  for  a  long  future. 

The  capacity  of  the  forest  to  produce  new  sup- 
plies depends  both  as  to  quantity  and  quality  on 
the  climate,  character  of  the  soil,  and  still  more  on 
the  care  which  the  forest  receives. 

In  the  uncared-for,  natural,  or  virgin  forest  the 
'production  is  always  much  smaller  than  in  the 
forest  properly  managed,  and,  on  the  average,  of  a 
much  inferior  kind.  Not  that  the  magnificent  clear 
lumber  which  we  find  in  virgin  woods  could  be 
much  improved  in  quality,  but  considering  the 
time  and  space,  the  product  has  been  obtained 
with  the  maximum  waste  of  both. 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE.  43 

The  virgin  forest  is  always  stocked  largely  with 
very  old,  and  necessarily  often  decaying  trees, 
which  are  doing  little  or  nothing  in  the  way  of 
growth  or  else  are  deteriorating  faster  in  quality 
than  they  increase  in  quantity ;  then  there  are 
myriads  of  saplings  and  small  brush  either  of  kinds 
which  are  undesirable  or  of  individual  trees  which 
under  the  shade  of  the  older  will  never  have  oppor- 
tunity to  develop  into  valuable  wood.  Moreover, 
the  virgin  forest  rarely  covers  fully  the  ground  it 
occupies,  but  usually  leaves  larger  or  smaller  open- 
ings growing  to  grass  or  shrubs,  and  among  the 
trees  forming  the  forest  there  are  a  large  number 
which  are  not  useful  in  the  arts,  —  tree  weeds. 

In  addition  dead  trees  and  fallen  timber  always 
occupy  considerable  space  which  is  thus  withdrawn 
from  wood  production.  Hence  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  give  even  an  approximate  estimate  of  what 
the  virgin  forest  actually  produces,  how  much  per 
acre  and  year  grows  in  it. 

This  is  certain,  that  while  the  few  trees  which 
overtower  the  general  level  of  the  rest  of  the 
growth  and  are  fully  developed,  may  have  made 
as  much  wood  as  the  species  in  the  soil  and  climate 
could  make,  yet  the  useful  wood  production  on  the 
whole  acre  has  been  far  below  its  capacity. 

The  timber  in  our  pineries  which  is  considered 
fit  for  sawing  is  mostly  over  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  old,  and  it  has,  therefore,  taken  at  least  a 
century  and  a  half  to  produce  the  five  to  ten  thou- 


44  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

sand  feet  B.M.  per  acre,  which  are  ordinarily  har- 
vested from  these  virgin  woods.  But  this  product 
was  probably  ready  for  the  axe  these  thousand 
years,  without  increasing,  the  decay  balancing  the 
new  growth  ;  generations  of  similar  large  trees  have 
come  to  maturity,  have  fallen  and  decayed  before 
and  during  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  in 
which  the  present  crop  developed.  At  the  same 
time,  to  judge  from  the  number  and  character  of 
the  decaying  trunks  which  are  found  covering  the 
ground,  these  generations  have  not  been  very 
many  during  the  time  that  the  present  crop  has 
befen  growing :  the  land  has  largely  been  wasted 
in  producing  useless  material,  —  brush  and  tree 
weeds. 

In  other  words,  the  natural  forest  resource  as  we 
find  it  consists  of  an  accumulated  wood  capitalizing 
idle  and  aivaiting  the  hand  of  a  rational  manager 
to  do  its  duty  as  a  producer  of  a  continuous  highest 
revenue. 

Such  management,  however,  it  does  not  receive 
in  the  crude  exploitations  to  which  it  is  subjected 
in  all  newly  developed  and  developing  countries ; 
on  the  contrary,  the  wasteful  use  of  the  soil  is  only 
intensified;  for  these  exploitations,  the  operations 
of  the  lumberman,  consist  in  a  mere  removal  of 
the  valuable  portions  of  the  growth,  a  cashing  of 
the  accumulated  wood  capital,  without  the  slightest 
reference  to  future  revenues  which  might  be 
derived  from  it  in  the  shape  of  wood  growth.     In 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE.  45 

fact  he  does  not  recognize  or  consider  that  the 
forest  is  not  merely  a  mine,  but  a  reproducible  re- 
source, —  a  living,  growing  crop,  the  product  of  the 
soil  and  climate,  which  can  be  reproduced  ad  libi- 
tum in  even  superior  quantity  and  quality  to  what 
nature  alone  and  unaided  has  done. 

His  methods  of  removing  the  standing  timber 
are  not  only  wasteful,  —  for  under  the  present 
economic  conditions  prevailing  in  most  parts  of  the 
United  States  hardly  more  than  20  to  30  per  cent, 
rarely  40  to  50  per  cent,  of  the  material  in  the  felled 
trees  is  utilized,  —  but  they  decrease  the  capacity 
of  the  land  for  producing  valuable  timber. 

By  culling  out  the  most  valuable  kinds,  leaving 
undesirable  kinds  and  poor  trees  to  shade  the 
young  growth  that  may  have  developed,  he  pre- 
vents the  reproduction  of  a  valuable  crop,  and 
hence  such  culled  areas,  while  they  still  appear  as 
forested,  have  often  lost  their  entire  value  as  pro- 
ducers of  useful  material ;  the  growth  on  the  land 
being  an  encumbrance  rather,  to  be  got  rid  of  first, 
before  profitable  use  of  the  soil  either  for  agri- 
cultural crops  or  for  useful  wood  crops  can  take 
place. 

It  thus  may  happen  that  the  charcoal  burner, 
who  cuts  the  entire  growth  of  wood,  produces  less 
injury  to  the  future  condition  of  the  forest  resource, 
for  he  gives  at  least  equal  chance  to  the  valuable 
and  less  valuable  kinds  to  reoccupy  the  ground, 
while  the  lumberman  gives  the  advantage  to  the 


46  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

weeds  in  tree  growth  whenever  he  culls  the  better 
kinds.  Under  these  conditions,  when  the  timber 
is  harvested  and  the  land  burned  over,  the  condi- 
tions are  so  changed  and  so  variable  as  to  preclude 
every  estimate  of  future  supplies  that  might  be 
reproduced. 

The  rational  way  in  treating  the  resource  of 
virgin  woods,  from  national  economic  if  not  from 
private  pocket  interest,  would  be  as  far  as  possible 
to  prepare  first  for  a  desirable  reproduction  by  cut- 
ting out  the  poor  kinds  and  the  useless  brush,  then 
logging  out  first  only  the  largest  trees  of  the  bet- 
ter kinds  with  proper  precaution  against  injury  to 
younger  growth,  and  against  fires,  then  gradually, 
as  younger  trees  grow  on,  the  older  ones  may  be 
harvested  and  as  much  as  possible  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  the  young  aftergrowth  is  given  room  and 
light. 

Thus,  by  mere  care  in  utilizing  the  resource,  not 
only  can  all  the  product  be  harvested  but  a  new 
crop,  increased  in  quantity,  can  be  secured.  'From 
such  simple  care  we  come  to  the  finest  methods  of 
forestry,  for  these  are  only  different  in  the  degree 
of  care,  hardly  in  the  kind. 

By  these  methods  man  makes  the  forest  resource 
produce  easily  the  treble  and  quadruple  of  what  it 
does  when  left  alone;  so  that  merely  by  the  judi- 
cious use  the  capacity  of  useful  production  grows. 

How  much  intensive  management  can  increase 
the  yield  of  the  resource  may  be  judged  from  the 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE.  47 

experiences  of  German  forest  administration.  Here 
the  forest  resources  are  nearly  if  not  entirely- 
brought  under  rational  management  and  are 
treated  as  a  crop,  constantly  furnishing  harvests, 
and  being  reproduced  without  diminishing  the 
wood  capital. 

The  results  in  quantity  of  raw  product  depend 
of  course  largely  on  soil,  climate,  and  species,  and 
in  amount  of  money  returns,  also  on  market  con- 
ditions and  means  of  transportation. 

These  last  conditions,  if  favorable,  may  render  a 
more  intensive  management  and  especially  a  closer 
utilization  of  all  kinds  and  classes  of  wood  possible, 
and  hence  the  results  differ  widely. 

Thus  the  more  extensively  managed  Prussian 
government  forests,  which  with  an  area  of  6,750,000 
acres  are  perhaps  also  stocked  on  poorer  soils  and 
are  less  favorably  situated,  produced  as  an  average 
for  a  series  of  years  42  cubic  feet  of  timber  wood 
(over  3  inches  diameter)  per  acre,  those  of  Bavaria 
55,  those  of  Baden  59,  of  Wiirtemberg  6^,  while 
the  most  intensively  managed  state  forests  of 
Saxony  of  only  430,000  acres  extent  produced  90 
cubic  feet  of  wood  per  acre  per  year,  of  which  68 
cubic  feet  was  timber  wood,  the  highest  produc- 
tion for  such  a  large  area. 

In  Austria  from  nearly  25,000,000  acres  the  cut 
in  1890  was  43  cubic  feet  per  acre  ;  and  for  France 
the  cut  in  the  state  forests,  supposed  to  equal  the 
annual  growth,  was  stated  for   1876  at   50  cubic 


48  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

feet,  while  the  more  poorly  managed  communal 
forests  were  capable  of  furnishing  only  40.6  cubic 
feet  per  acre. 

The  money  returns  depend,  of  course,  in  some 
degree  on  the  quantity  of  product,  quality,  and 
local  demand.  In  the  densely  populated,  highly 
industrial  state  of  Saxony  they  were  $4.00  per  acre 
net,  as  against  $1.19  and  $0.96  in  the  same  period 
for  Bavaria  and  Prussia  respectively.^ 

A  further  illustration  of  the  increase  in  yield 
which  comes  with  proper  management  of  this  re- 
source is  furnished  by  the  Prussian  state  forest 
administration;  while  during  the  years  from  1829 
to  1867  the  cut  was  increased  from  28  to  37  cubic 
feet  per  acre  and  to  46.7  cubic  feet  in  1880,  nearly 
double  what  it  was  in  1829,  yet  the  proportion  of 
old  timber  over  80  years,  or  stock  of  merchantable 
timber  on  hand  increased  during  the  last  20  years 
of  the  period  from  23  per   cent  to  27  per   cent, 

1  How  much  the  money  results  per  acre  vary  according  to  the 
species  and  the  fact  whether  the  production  is  directed  more  to  the 
production  of  firewood  or  of  saw  timber  may  be  seen  from  a  calcu- 
lation by  Schwappach  (Forstpolitik),  according  to  which  the  net 
yield  QX^  an  acre,  stocked  on  best  soil  for  a  rotation  of  120  years,  i.e. 
the  crop  being  allowed  to  grow  that  length  of  time,  would  be,  when 
mainly  firewood  is  produced,  for  pine,  ^375;  for  spruce,  ^672;  for 
beech,  $456;  when  the  management  is  directed  to  a  greater  pro- 
duction of  saw  timber,  these  results  can  be  increased  for  pine  to 
^1,470;  for  spruce,  ^3,195;  for  beech,  $836,  making  the  acre  pro- 
duce respectively  3  times,  4  times,  and  double  the  result.  This  con- 
sideration may  serve  as  a  pointer  to  our  New  England  woodland 
owners,  who  are  satisfied  with  the  production  of  firewood. 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE.  49 

showing  that  the  cut  remained  below  the  produc- 
tion. In  Saxony,  the  cut  in  the  most  intensively 
managed  state  forests  has  been  doubled  in  the  last 
fifty  years,  and  yet  the  stock  of  wood  capital 
standing  has  increased  over  16  per  cent;  while,  in 
1845,  of  the  cut  per  acre  of  56  cubic  feet,  11  per 
cent  was  saw  timber,  in  1893,  of  the  90  cubic  feet 
cut,  54  per  cent  was  timber  fit  for  the  mill.  The 
gross  revenue  increased  in  that  time  234  per  cent, 
and  the  net  revenue  over  80  per  cent.  A  financial 
calculation  shows  that  the  state's  property  has  not 
only  paid  3  per  cent  continuously  in  revenue,  but 
has  appreciated  in  value  24  per  cent  by  mere 
accumulation  of  material. 

Since,  then,  these  yields  have  been  kept  up 
for  a  considerable  period  without  decreasing  the 
amount  of  wood  capital  on  hand,  it  is  fair  to 
assume  that  these  figures  approach  nearly  to  the 
true  producing  capacity  of  these  forest  lands  under 
the  methods  employed. 

Altogether,  the  12,000,000  acres  of  German 
state  forests,  managed  in  a  conservative  manner 
for  continuous  production,  average  about  50  cubic 
feet  of  wood  (exclusive  of  brush  and  rootwood) 
per  year  per  acre,  in  which  about  60  per  cent,  or 
3 1  cubic  feet,  are  millable  product,  log  or  bolt  size. 

It  is  significant  to  note  that  the  private  forests 
of  the  empire  fall  much  below  these  amounts, 
producing  not  more  than  30  and  12  cubic  feet  per 
acre  respectively. 


50  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

According  to  a  conservative  calculation  based 
upon  these  experiences,  the  forest  resource  of  Ger- 
many represents,  in  round  numbers,  a  capital  value 
of  ;^ 1 80  per  acre  ($25  for  the  soil  and  ^155  for  the 
stock  of  wood),  paying  a  constant  revenue  of  3  per 
cent  on  such  capitalization;  or  since  there  are  some- 
what over  35,000,000  acres  of  forest,  their  capital 
value  is  equal  to  $6,340,000,000,  producing  a  con- 
tinuous annual  income  of  $190,000,000.  The  state 
properties  are,  moreover,  constantly  improving,  and 
the  revenue  constantly  increasing. 

While,  to  the  casual  reader,  this  showing  may 
hardly  appear  as  a  very  profitable  business,  we 
must  not  forget  that  the  result  is  obtained  for  the 
most  part  from  soils  which  would  otherwise  be 
unproductive,  for  the  forest  areas  in  these  coun- 
tries are  in  the  main  confined  to  the  non-agricul- 
tural lands,  and  to  such  as  may  not  with  impunity 
be  deprived  of  their  forest  cover. 

Furthermore,  from  the  standpoint  of  national 
economy  the  productive  employment  of  labor 
directly  or  indirectly  concerned  is  of  moment, 
representing  in  laborers'  wages  annually  round 
$150,000,000,  namely,  $35,000,000  for  exploitation, 
planting,  road  building,  and  hauling  of  forest  prod- 
ucts, not  including  rail  and  water  transportation,  and 
$115,000,000  for  labor  in  industries  concerned  in 
shaping  the  wood,  so  that  not  less  than  1,000,000 
laborers'  families  may  be  estimated  to  find  support 
from  the  forest. 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE.  51 

Although  we  are  without  the  statistics  which 
would  permit  a  similar  statement  regarding  the 
value  of  our  own  forest  resource,  especially  as  it 
has  not  yet  come  to  a  stable  condition  as  a  man- 
aged property,  yet  we  may  venture  to  make  a  rea- 
sonable guess  at  some  of  its  conditions,  based  upon 
such  statistical  data  as  are  at  hand,  and  judgment 
of  probabilities. 

Our  consumption  we  can  reasonably  approxi- 
mate with  a  round  25,000,000,000  cubic  feet  of 
large-size  material,  for  we  do  not  use  the  brush- 
wood to  any  extent.  This,  with  an  estimated 
area  of  round  500,000,000  acres,  means  a  cut  per 
acre  of  50  cubic  feet,  while  even  the  most  san- 
guine estimate  of  new  growth  for  this  vast  and 
variously  stocked  area  could  not  be  made  to 
exceed  10  cubic  feet  of  such  wood  as  we  utilize 
per  acre  and  year,  and  is  probably  far  below 
this. 

Of  this  large  consumption,  however,  only  one- 
quarter,  or  6,000,000,000  cubic  feet  goes  into  bolt 
or  log-size  material  for  mill  use,  the  rest  being  fire- 
wood, for  which,  to  be  sure,  also  mostly  log-size 
material  is  used.  The  value  of  the  mill  material, 
two-thirds  of  which  is  coniferous  wood,  represents 
about  ^500,000,000. 

An  extravagant  estimate  of  the  available  timber 
supplies  ready  for  the  axe  —  a  guess  which  the 
writer  has  ventured  upon  the  basis  of  various 
statistical  data,  experiences,  and  considerations  of 


52  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

possibilities  and  probabilities  —  would  make  the 
stock  on  hand  about  as  follows  :  — 

Billion  feet, 
B.M. 

Northern  States 5CX3 

Southern  States 700 

Western  States 800 

It  is  apparent  that  we  are  bound  to  exhaust  these 
stores  in  less  time  than  they  can  be  replaced,  that 
we  are  not  living  on  interest,  but  are  rapidly  at- 
tacking our  wood  capital, — a  process  fully  in  keep- 
ing with  the  development  of  any  new  country,  but 
also  one  against  which  reaction  must  set  in  in  time, 
if  serious  consequences  are  to  be  avoided. 

Such  reaction  may  be  secured  first  through  a 
more  economical  use  of  the  timber  resources,  for 
our  per  capita  consumption  falls  hardly  short  of 
350  cubic  feet,  nearly  nine  times  that  of  Germany 
and  twenty-five  times  that  of  England,  and  hence 
a  large  margin  is  left  for  such  economies. 

Finally,  however,  forest  management,  as  prac- 
tised in  other  countries,  will  become  an  unavoid- 
able necessity  to  secure  the  continued  production 
of  needed  wood  supplies. 

There  is  one  factor  of  national  importance  re- 
sulting from  the  industries  concerned  in  the  con- 
version of  our  virgin  forests,  which  does  not  at  all, 
or  not  to  the  same  extent,  attach  to  them  in  other 
countries,  and  which,  in  the  end,  is  of  more 
moment  than  estimates  of  stumpage  or  land  values 
or  values  of  products  can  express. 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   RESOURCE.  53 

Not  only  does  the  lumberman  with  the  system- 
atic development  of  his  business,  which  has  enabled 
him  to  supply  a  superior  article  as  cheaply  as  the 
inferior  one  is  sold  in  Europe,  give  rise  to  many 
manufactories  and  industries  and  render  possible 
the  development  of  distant  agricultural  regions, 
which  in  turn  renders  profitable  the  building  of 
railroads  and  the  employment  of  labor,  but  he  has 
been  the  pioneer  in  bringing  the  wilderness  itself 
within  reach  of  civilized  influences ;  and  while  this 
has  often  been  done  at  an  unnecessarily  extrava- 
gant sacrifice  of  much  of  our  natural  forest 
resources,  the  opening  up  of  these  backwoods 
must  nevertheless  be  considered  as  a  potent  influ- 
ence for  good,  resulting  from  his  business. 

Per  aspera  ad  astra,  through  rough  work  to  civ- 
ilization, is  the  history  of  the  settHng  of  the  back- 
woods, which  the  logger  has  accomplished. 

Such  settlement  is  necessary  before  forest  man- 
agement can  be  profitably  applied  to  the  remnants 
of  woodlands ;  and  while  we  may  regret  the  waste- 
fulness with  which  this  settlement  has  been  made, 
we  must  consider  it  as  a  necessary  step  toward 
an  extension  of  civilized  conditions. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE  FOREST   AS   A  CONDITION. 

The  earth  may  be  said  to  be  a  potential  forest. 
A  cover  of  tree  growth  more  or  less  dense  is  or  has 
been  the  natural  condition  at  least  of  the  larger 
portion  of  the  habitable  earth ;  and  of  the  entire 
land  surface  not  less  than  60  per  cent  may  be 
classed  as  actual  or  potential  woodland. 

In  the  struggle  for  existence  and  for  occupancy 
of  the  soil  between  the  different  forms  of  vegeta- 
tion, tree  growth  has  an  advantage  in  its  perennial 
nature  and  in  its  elevation  above  its  competitors  for 
light,  the  most  essential  element  of  life  for  most 
plants.  These  characteristics,  together  with  its 
remarkable  recuperative  powers,  assure  to  the 
arborescent  flora  final  victory  over  its  competi- 
tors, except  where  climatic  and  soil  conditions  are 
not  adapted  to  it. 

The  entire  absence  of  tree  growth  from  some 
localities,  such  as  the  northern  tundras  and  the 
high  peaks  above  timber  line,  is  due  both  to  tem- 
perature and  soil  conditions.  Here  the  two  char- 
acteristics of  perennial  life  and  persistent  height 
growth,  become  unfavorable,  since  extreme  winter 
54 


THE    FOREST   AS   A   CONDITION.  55 

temperatures  above  the  snow  cover,  droughty 
winter  storms,  and  frosts  every  month  in  the  year 
can  be  endured  only  by  those  plants  which  have  a 
rapid  cycle  of  development,  or  are  sheltered  near 
the  ground  by  the  snow  cover;  the  wet  soil  on 
the  tundras,  frozen  for  most  portions  of  the  year, 
or  the  thin  soil  on  the  Alpine  peaks,  adds  to  the 
difficulties  for  deep-rooting  species  in  their  contest 
with  the  lower  vegetation.  Again,  in  the  interior 
of  continents  and  other  localities  unfavorably  situ- 
ated with  reference  to  the  great  sources  of  mois- 
ture and  moisture-bearing  currents,  deficiency  of 
water,  namely  scant  rainfall  or  low  relative  humid- 
ity, or  both,  and  excess  of  evaporation,  are  inimi- 
cal to  tree  growth.  Occasionally  soil  conditions, 
especially  with  reference  to  drainage,  and  climatic 
conditions  combined,  may  be  more  favorable  to  the 
graminaceous  vegetation,  at  least  for  a  time,  giving 
rise  to  pampas,  prairies,  and  savannas ;  or  else  the 
unfavorable  conditions  combine  to  such  a  degree 
as  to  give  rise  to  deserts. 

In  addition,  there  are  other  inimical  agencies  in 
the  animal  world,  which  prevent  the  progress  of 
forest  growth  and  tend  to  preserve  the  prairie  : 
locusts,  rodents,  ruminants,  buffalo,  antelope,  horses, 
etc.,  impede  the  growth  and  spread  of  trees ;  and 
especially  where  compact  soil  and  deficient  mois- 
ture conditions  are  leagued  with  these  animals,  the 
change  from  prairie  to  forest  is  prevented,  at  least 
for  a  time. 


56  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

Woodlands  are  the  most  unfavorable  form  of 
vegetation  for  the  life  of  ruminants,  and  therefore 
for  the  support  of  the  largest  number  of  men.  For 
food  production,  for  agricultural  pursuits,  man 
must  subdue  and  remove  the  tree  growth.  Hence 
forest  devastation,  forest  destruction,  is  the  begin- 
ning of  civilization,  its  necessary  prerequisite. 

But  while  the  removal  and  repression  of  the 
wood,  as  an  impediment  to  culture  and  food  pro- 
duction, is  a  necessary  step  toward  a  higher  civili- 
zation, the  fact  that  at  the  same  time  it  furnishes 
material  equally  indispensable  in  building  up  a  civ- 
ihzation  requires  consideration  also,  and  the  neces- 
sity for  its  preservation  in  part,  its  continuance  in 
possession  of  some  portions  of  the  soil,  is  indicated. 

Happily,  the  very  soils  and  situations  which  are 
not  fit  for  agriculture  are  still  capable  of  support- 
ing tree  growth ;  and  although  the  best  timber,  no 
doubt,  may  be  grown  on  land  most  favorable  to 
agricultural  crops,  the  poorer  soils  and  mountain 
slopes  unfit  for  plough  land  will  still  yield  wood 
crops  of  useful  description. 

In  reducing,  therefore,  the  woodland  condition 
to  one  adapted  to  the  highest  civilization,  the  rele- 
gation of  the  different  soils  and  sites  to  the  differ- 
ent uses  to  which  they  are  best  adapted,  as  fields, 
pastures,  or  forest,  is  a  problem  of  true  national 
economy. 

Besides  the  consideration  of  a  proper  proportion 
of  woodlands  to  furnish  the  needful  supply  of  wood 


THE   FOREST   AS  A   CONDITION, 


57 


material,  —  supply  forests,  —  there  are  other  consid- 
erations which  enter  into  this  problem  of  the  eco- 
nomic use  of  the  soil  and  of  distributing  the  various 
conditions  of  its  occupancy.  These  are  based  upon 
knowledge  of  what  we  may  call  forest  influences : 
the  influence  which  the  existence  of  a  forest  cover 
as  a  surface  condition  of  the  soil  exerts  upon  soil 
conditions,  temperature  conditions,  and  water  con- 
ditions, and  by  virtue  of  which  we  may  charac- 
terize them  as  protective  forests.  While  the  most 
economic  use  of  the  soil  for  material  production 
necessitates  relegation  of  forests  to  the  poorer  soils, 
protective  considerations  necessitate  its  relegation 
to  certain  localities. 

While  our  modern  philosophy  of  nature  readily  per- 
ceives that  all  things  are  interdependent,  and  hence 
no  change  can  take  place  in  one  condition  without 
corresponding  changes  in  other  conditions,  even 
the  oldest  civiHzed  men  intuitively  recognized  or  at 
least  suspected  and  appreciated  the  fact  that  the 
forest  cover  had  some  influence  upon  its  surround- 
ings, upon  climate,  health,  and  water  conditions  of 
a  country,  as  is  evidenced  by  many  sayings  of 
Mosaic,  Roman,  and  Greek  writers,  by  which  far- 
sighted  priests  prevented  their  destruction.  The 
consecration  of  groves  to  religious  use  and  various 
mythological  conceptions  connected  with  them, 
point  in  this  direction. 

Thus  Homer  calls  the  vioimtain  woodlands  the 
habitations  of  the  gods  irefievr}  adavdroav),  in  which 


58  ECONOxMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

the  mortals  never  fell  the  trees,  but  where  they  fall 
from  age  when  their  time  has  come.  His  tree  and 
woodland  nymphs,  originating  in  springs,  seem  to 
suggest  the  suspected  relation  of  forests  and  springs. 
The  legend  of  Erichthonios  most  beautifully  hints 
at  the  dependence  of  agriculture  and  forest  cover  : 
'when,  by  the  felling  of  a  holy  oak,  he  has  of- 
fended the  dryads,  Ceres,  the  patroness  of  agricul- 
ture, is  asked  to  send  one  of  their  number  to  the 
mountains  of  the  Camasus  to  fetch  Famine,  who 
takes  hold  of  Erichthonios  and  kills  him. 

These  relations,  thus  darkly  hinted  at  in  earliest 
times,  became  more  clearly  recognized  by  philo- 
sophical writers.  While  Aristotle,  in  his  "  Na- 
tional Economy,"  points  out  that  an  assured  supply 
of  accessible  wood  material  is  one  of  the  necessary 
conditions  of  existence  for  a  city,  Plato,  in  his 
"  Civitas,"  writes  of  the  "  sickening  of  the  country  " 
in  consequence  of  deforestation.  The  Roman 
"  Twelve  Table  Laws,"  the  organic  law  of  the 
republic,  recognizes  the  necessity  of  forest  protec- 
tion, and  Cicero,  in  his  second  Philippica,  designates 
as  enemies  to  the  public  interest  those  engaged  in 
forest  devastation.  Laws  prohibiting  forest  de- 
struction in  the  mountain  forests  of  the  Apennines 
were  generally  enforced  in  the  early  middle  ages; 
as,  for  instance,  in  Florence,  where  deforestation 
within  one  mile  of  the  summit  of  the  Apennines 
was  forbidden,  and  it  was  only  about  the  first  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century  that  these  wise  provisions 


THE   FOREST   AS   A  CONDITION.  59 

which  had  preserved  the  cover  of  the  higher 
mountain  ranges  were  abolished  and  the  present 
sad  condition  of  things  was  inaugurated  in  Italy. 

Mesopotamia,  once  praised  as  the  paradise  of 
fertility,  where,  according  to  Herodotus,  the  cul- 
ture of  the  grape  could  not  succeed  on  account 
of  its  moisture,  has  become  a  sand  waste,  in  which 
the  Euphrates,  once  an  ample  source  of  water  sup- 
ply, is  drowned.  Most  of  the  springs  and  brooks 
of  Palestine,  and  with  them  the  fertility  still  cele- 
brated in  the  early  middle  ages,  have  gone.  Greece 
shows  the  progress  of  a  similar  decadence  ;  Sicily, 
once  the  never-failing  granary  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire, once  well  wooded,  now  entirely  deforested, 
suffers  from  repeated  failures  of  crops.  The  so- 
called  fumari,  deep  gullies  in  gravel,  filled  with 
washed  debris,  encroach  after  every  rain  upon  the 
fertile  fields,  emptying  them  of  water  in  a  few  hours. 

The  first  definite  expression  of  such  relations 
of  forest  cover  to  climate  appears  in  a  biography 
of  Admiral  Almirante,  written  before  1540,  by 
the  Spaniard,  Fernando  Colon,  in  the  following 
words :  — 

"  The  Admiral  ascribed  the  many  invigorating, 
cooling  rains,  to  which  he  was  exposed  while  sail- 
ing along  the  coast  of  Jamaica,  to  the  extent  and 
density  of  the  woods  which  covered  the  slopes  of 
the  mountains,  and  adds  that  formerly  Madeira, 
the  Canaries,  and  Azores  enjoyed  the  same  abun- 
dance of  water,  but  that  since  the  woods  which 


6o       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

had  shaded  the  ground  have  been  decimated,  the 
rains  have  become  less  frequent."  Similar  lan- 
guage is  laid  into  the  mouth  of  Christopher  Colum- 
bus in  the  "Historia  de  S.  D,  Fernando  Columbo,' 
1 571,  which  is  supposed,  however,  to  be  a  spurious 
work. 

But  it  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  that  both  in  France  and  Germany 
voices  became  loud  regarding  the  evil  effects  of 
forest  devastation,  and  then,  too,  the  growing 
deficiency  of  material  suppHes  formed  a  still 
more  prominent  argument  for  action.  Thus,  in 
France,  where  —  in  spite  of  Sully's  celebrated 
epigrammatic  warning,  ''La  France  perira  faute 
des  boisj'  and  Colbert's  forest  ordinance  of  1669  — 
only  indifferent  attention  to  a  conservative  forest 
policy  was  paid,  the  members  of  the  academic 
royale,  Buff  on  (1739),  and  later  the  Marquis  de 
Mirabeau  (1750),  exerted  themselves  to  bring 
about  a  better  conception  of  the  value  of  forests. 

Buffon  expressed  himself,  as  a  result  of  extended 
observations,  that  "  the  longer  a  country  is  inhab- 
ited, the  poorer  it  becomes  in  forest  growth  and 
water."  But  the  most  forcible  demonstration  of 
this  relation  between  woods  and  waters  was  had 
as  a  consequence  of  the  extensive  forest  devasta- 
tion which  took  place  during  the  years  of  the 
French  Revolution,  when  an  unrestricted  people 
in  their  greed  denuded  large  tracts  of  mountain 
woodlands  in   the   southern   mountain  districts  of 


THE   FOREST   AS    A   CONDITION.  6l 

that  country.  So  soon  did  the  evil  effects  become 
apparent,  that  even  in  1792  the  governor  of  the 
Department  of  Basses- Alpes  reported  :  "  The  clear- 
ings progress  rapidly ;  from  Dique  to  Entrevaut 
the  mountain  slopes  have  been  denuded  of  the 
finest  forest  growth ;  the  smallest  brooks  have 
grown  into  torrents,  and  several  communities  have 
lost  by  floods  their  harvests,  herds,  and  houses." 

In  1803  the  agricultural  society  of  Marseilles 
complains  as  follows  :  "  The  winters  have  become 
severer,  the  summers  drier  and  hotter,  the  bene- 
ficial rains  of  spring  and  autumn  fail ;  the  Mejeanne 
river,  flowing  east  and  west,  tears  away  its  banks 
with  the  smallest  thunder-storm,  and  inundates  the 
richest  meadows ;  but  nine  months  of  the  year  its 
bed  is  dry,  since  the  springs  have  given  out ;  irregu- 
lar destructive  thunder-showers  are  of  yearly  occur- 
rence, and  rain  is  deficient  at  all  seasons." 

Yet,  in  spite  of  these  early  warnings,  which  were 
supported  by  theoretical  discussions  of  such  sound 
reasoners  as  Boussingault,  Becquerel,  and  others, 
action  to  stem  the  destruction  and  to  recuperate 
the  lost  ground  was  obtained  only  within  the  last 
forty  years,  after  at  least  1,000,000  acres  of  moun- 
tain forest  had  been  denuded,  and  all  aftergrowth 
had  been  destroyed  by  fire  and  excessive  grazing, 
in  consequence  of  which  the  mountain  streams, 
turned  into  torrents,  had  laid  waste  about  8,000,000 
acres  of  tillable  land,  and  the  population  of  eigh- 
teen departments  had  been  impoverished  or  driven 


62       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

out.  Now,  although  with  the  expenditure  of  more 
than  ;^40,ooo,ooo  only  a  small  part  has  been  recu- 
perated, the  efficiency  of  a  forest  growth  in  hold- 
ing the  soils  of  the  slopes  and  retarding  the 
run-off  water  seems  experimentally  demonstrated 
beyond  peradventure. 

In  Germany  the  greatest  exponent  of  natural 
philosophy,  Alex,  von  Humboldt,  from  observa- 
tions in  many  parts  of  the  globe,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  forest  conditions  and  climatic 
conditions  are  intimately  related.  Among  the 
causes  which  tend  to  lower  the  mean  annual 
temperature,  he  cited  in  his  "  Cosmos,"  "  cxtejisive 
woods,  which  hinder  the  insolation  of  the  soil  by 
the  vital  activity  of  their  foliage,  producing  in- 
tense evaporation  owing  to  the  extension  of  these 
organs,  and  increasing  the  surface  that  is  cooled 
by  radiation,  and  acting  consequently  in  a  three- 
fold manner,  by  shade,  evaporation,  and  radia- 
tion;" and  in  another  place  he  gives  expression 
to  his  conviction  of  the  relation  of  forest  cover 
and  water  conditions  in  the  often-cited  words, 
"  How  foolish  does  man  appear  to  me  in  destroy- 
ing the  mountain  forests,  for  thereby  he  deprives 
himself  of  wood  and  water  at  the  same  time." 

In  the  beginning  of  this  century,  when  the 
tendency  of  dismembering  and  selling  the  forest 
property  accumulated  by  the  state  governments 
began  to  spread,  in  part  as  a  consequence  of 
Adam  Smith's  doctrine,  those  opposed  to  such  a 


THE    FOREST   AS   A   CONDITION.  63 

policy,  especially  in  Germany,  made  vigorous  prop- 
aganda for  the  theory  of  the  protective  value  of 
forest  cover,  and,  as  is  natural  for  propagandists, 
made  many  sweeping  and  extravagant  claims,  and 
an  extensive  literature,  characterized  by  vigorous 
declamation  of  unsubstantiated  facts,  and  by  ab- 
sence of  exact  data,  was  the  result. 

The  condition  of  Palestine  and  other  Eastern 
countries,  of  Greece,  Sicily,  and  Spain,  once  fertile, 
now  more  or  less  desolate,  was  cited,  and  morals 
were  drawn  from  these  experiences ;  discrimina- 
tion as  to  historic  evidences  of  cause  and  effect 
was  mostly  wanting,  so  that  this  historic  method 
of  discussing  the  problem  has  been  largely  dis- 
credited. 

Systematic,  attempts  to  establish  by  experiments 
and  exact  methods  the  truth  in  the  matter,  at  least 
as  far  as  climatic  influence  is  concerned,  were  made 
only  within  the  last  thirty-five  or  forty  years.  In 
France,  Becquerel  began  in  1858  a  series  of  obser- 
vations on  temperatures  within  and  without  a  forest 
cover;  in  1866,  the  forestry  school  at  Nancy  was 
engaged  in  determining  moisture  conditions  at  sta- 
tions in  the  forest,  and  later  in  the  open ;  and 
several  other  investigators,  both  in  France  and 
Germany,  carried  on  such  observations  about  the 
same  time.  In  1868,  the  Bavarian  government  in- 
stituted an  exhaustive  series  of  observations  under 
Dr.  Ebermayer,  to  determine  the  climatic  condi- 
tions within  a  forest  area.     Switzerland  followed 


64       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

with  three  pairs  of  parallel  stations,  and  in  1875 
Prussia  established  an  investigation,  which  still  con- 
tinues, with  seventeen  stations,  observations  being 
taken  at  each  on  instruments  set  up  within  the 
forest  and  another  set  in  a  neighboring  field.  In 
1884,  Austria  instituted  a  series  of  radial  stations 
at  which  not  only  the  difference  of  meteorological 
data  within  and  without  a  forest,  but  the  influence 
of  the  forest  on  its  surroundings,  were  to  be  meas- 
ured directly. 

Although,  by  these  many  and  long  continued 
observations,  some  valuable  facts  have  been  estab- 
lished, and  our  ideas  as  to  the  elements  which  enter 
into  the  problem  have  been  cleared  up,  the  real 
object  of  inquiry,  namely,  whether  and  how  far 
forests  exercise  an  influence  upon  climate,  cannot 
be  said  to  have  progressed  far  to  a  solution,  and  it 
is  questionable  whether  the  present  methods  will 
ever  lead  to  a  solution. 

The  reasons  for  this  failure  are  at  least  three- 
fold. Both  instruments  and  methods  of  meteoro- 
logical inquiry  are  as  yet  unsatisfactory.  When, 
for  instance,  rain  gauges  will,  according  to  their 
construction,  the  manner  of  their  position,  and  the 
character  of  the  wind  and  rain,  during  the  same 
storm,  register  amounts  varying  from  7  to  40  per 
cent,  we  are  without  any  means  of  applying  a  con- 
stant factor  of  correction,  and  it  would  appear  that 
no  reliance  can  be  placed  on  such  measurements  for 
the  purpose  of  determining  the  difference  of  rain- 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   CONDITION.  65 

fall  within  and  without  the  forest.  The  difficulty 
of  finding  stations  within  and  without  the  forest 
which  differ  in  no  other  respects  than  the  forest 
cover,  excluding  all  topographic  and  other  influ- 
ences upon  meteorological  phenomena,  is  well-nigh 
insurmountable. 

Finally,  whatever  we  may  be  able  to  do  in  ascer- 
taining the  single  meteorological  data  that  give  us 
an  insight  into  the  differences  regarding  these  single 
elements  under  varying  conditions,  the  difference 
in  their  combined  effect,  which  we  know  as  climate, 
still  requires  the  appHcation  of  a  philosophical  mind 
to  the  interpretation  of  the  data.  Hence  we  find 
that  not  only  are  the  collected  data  often  discord- 
ant, but  the  same  data  have  been  used  by  students 
of  the  question  both  to  assert  and  to  deny  proof  of 
the  existence  of  forest  influences.  In  other  words, 
the  problem  is  too  complicated  for  our  present 
means  and  methods  to  be  settled  by  the  mathe- 
matical method. 

We  are,  therefore,  for  the  present,  thrown  back 
upon  the  method  of  general  observations  in  the  field 
and  the  application  of  reasoning  from  well-known 
physical  laws,  for  this  is  one  of  those  problems 
which  withdraw  themselves  from  exact  mathemati- 
cal treatment  now,  and  we  must  rely  upon  empiri- 
cism until  we  have  further  advanced  in  developing 
the  means  and  methods  of  meteorological  inquiry. 

The  immaterial  influence  of  the  forest  is  claimed 
to  extend  in  at  least  four  or  five  more  or  less  sepa- 


66  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

rate,  yet,  nevertheless,  more  or  less  closely  related, 
directions,  namely :  — 

1.  Upon  the  climatic  conditions  within  its  own 
limits  and  beyond. 

2.  Upon  the  distribution  and  character  of  the 
waterflow. 

3.  Upon  the  mechanical  condition  and  erosion 
of  the  soil  under  its  cover. 

4.  Upon  the  health  conditions. 

5.  Upon  the  ethics  of  a  people. 

This  last  influence  is  one  which  we  cannot  measure 
or  even  argue  with  any  determinable  force,  but 
which  we  ourselves  may  feel  more  or  less  strongly, 
according  to  the  degree  to  which  our  emotions  in 
general  are  susceptible.  In  either  of  the  other 
directions  in  which  an  influence  of  forest  cover 
is  asserted,  the  mechanical  obstruction  which  it 
represents  is  the  principal  effective  element ;  the 
physiological  functions  of  the  living  plant  playing, 
to  be  sure,  a  part,  but  of  much  less  importance, 
probably,  than  has  been  often  supposed. 

It  requires  no  instrument  to  find  out  that  the 
effective  temperature  is  higher  when  the  sun  has 
full  sway  upon  our  skulls  than  if  we  interpose  the 
shade  of  a  densely  foliaged  tree  to  obstruct  the 
sun's  rays ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  coohng  breeze, 
which  may  pass  over  the  open  field,  is  also  ob- 
structed by  the  forest  growth,  and  its  absence  may 
make  the  air  temperature  appear  higher,  even  in 
spite  of  the   shade.     Again,  it   stands   to  reason 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   CONDITION.  6/ 

that  a  dense  old  growth,  such  as  one  may  find 
here  and  there  on  the  Pacific  coast,  with  trees 
towering  250  to  300  feet  above  ground  and  so 
close  together  that  no  ray  of  Hght  reaches  the  soil, 
must  have  a  different  effect  from  the  low  and 
scanty  growth  of  cedar  and  pinon  which  we  find 
on  the  slopes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  else- 
where, or  the  young  coppice  growth  of  New  Eng- 
land, interposing  but  little  shade.  Whether  the 
forest  lies  to  the  leeward  or  in  the  direction  of  the 
prevaihng  wind,  whether  it  be  coniferous  and  ever- 
green through  the  year,  or  only  summer-green,  will 
also  have  to  be  considered  in  estimating  its  pro- 
tective value. 

While  the  single  tree  undoubtedly  acts  in  the 
same  manner  as  a  collection  of  trees,  its  influence 
cannot  reach  very  far  beyond  its  surroundings,  nor 
can  it  be  very  appreciable.  It  is  also  quite  evi- 
dent that  neither  a  few  scattered  trees  and  bushes, 
nor  a  belt  of  trees,  like  a  wind-break,  nor  a  small 
clump  of  trees  in  a  large  open  field,  nor  even  an 
extensive  orchard,  can  act  singly  as  practically 
appreciable  chmatic  factors,  although  all  these 
aggregations  of  trees  must  have  their  influence 
upon  their  surroundings. 

It  is  the  effectiveness  with  which  sun  and  wind 
are  excluded  from  the  soil,  and  thereby  air  tem- 
peratures and  air  humidity  are  modified,  that  de- 
termines also  the  degree  and  distance  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  cause  to  which  the  modification  is  felt 


68  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

In  other  words,  while  the  quality  of  the  influence 
remains  the  same,  its  degree,  and  especially  its 
effective  and  appreciable  value,  must  vary  as  much 
as  there  are  varying  local  conditions  possible.  The 
size  and  character  of  the  forest,  its  density,  height, 
situation,  and  composition,  are  of  more  importance 
in  determining  its  influence  than  is  usually  realized 
by  those  who  discuss  the  question. 

Another  matter  which  it  is  also  necessary  to 
accentuate,  because  it  is  usually  overlooked,  is  that 
the  influence,  if  any,  can  only  be  of  local  charac- 
ter, it  must  therefore  be  discussed  only  with  refer- 
ence to  given  local  conditions.  It  cannot  be  put 
in  comparison  with  that  of  the  large  oceans,  the 
great  air  currents,  the  extensive  mountain  ranges, 
which  determine  the  general  or  cosmic  climate. 
The  forest  can  modify  only  locally  the  effects  of 
this  general  climate,  in  about  the  same  manner  as 
we  modify  it  by  building  houses  around  us  and 
heating  them,  whereby  we  change  the  temperature 
and  moisture  conditions  at  least  in  our  habitation ; 
or  by  building  cities,  which  we  know  differ,  as  far 
as  our  feeling  is  concerned,  from  the  climate  of 
the  adjoining  country. 

It  may  also  be  proper  here  to  state  that,  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  whatever  influence  exists,  it  is 
dependent  on  local  conditions,  the  attempt  to  fix 
a  certain  general  percentage  of  forest  cover  as 
necessary  for  a  country  is  childish,  and  also  that 
there  are  conditions  where  the  existence  of  forest 


THE   FOREST   AS   A   CONDITION.  69 

growth  is  at  least  practically  prevented  by  climatic 
conditions,  —  although  the  limits  are  by  no  means 
known,  —  and  hence  no  expectation  can  be  had  of 
utilizing  this  influence  in  these  conditions. 

Again,  since  undoubtedly  the  forest  influence 
on  surroundings,  as  far  as  climatic  factors  are  con- 
cerned, can  extend  only  to  a  limited  distance,  the 
most  effective  result  must  be  secured  by  alterna- 
tions of  forest  cover  and  open  land,  hence  the  dis- 
tribution of  these  two  conditions  is  of  as  much 
importance  as  the  relative  size  of  the  parcels. 

Without  going  into  the  detail  of  the  difference 
of  meteorological  conditions  that  may  exist  in  the 
forest  and  the  adjoining  open  country,  it  may  be 
briefly  stated  that  the  tendency  of  a  forest  cover 
is  to  reduce  extremes  of  high  and  low  temperature 
in  about  the  same  manner  as  does  a  sheet  of  water, 
and  this  effect  is  most  noticeable  in  the  hot  months. 
But  whether  and  how  far  this  temperature  differ- 
ence is  felt  outside  is  not  as  yet  determined.  Nor 
do  we  know  much  regarding  the  important  influence 
on  the  moisture  conditions  of  the  air  and  on  the 
rainfall.  The  tendency  of  a  forest  growth  would 
be,  on  account  of  its  cooling  effect,  to  keep  the  air 
within  and  to  some  extent  above  it  nearer  satura- 
tion, and  as  a  consequence  it  might  occur  that 
moisture-bearing  currents  passing  over  would  pre- 
cipitate their  moisture  more  readily  above  or  near 
the  forest  growth.  Whether  they  do  is  still  doubt- 
ful, and  indeed,  to  make  an  appreciable  difference 


JO  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

in  the  amount  of  rainfall,  it  would  appear  that  the 
forest  area  must  be  of  considerable  extent. 

Although  some  writers  have,  from  existing  meas- 
urements, argued  an  influence  on  precipitation, 
others  have  denied  it.  As  stated  above,  we  hold 
that  no  reliable  rainfall  measurements  are,  as  yet, 
obtainable,  and  we  must  leave  the  question  open. 

The  more  readily  conceivable  effect  of  a  forest 
growth  on  moisture  conditions  of  the  air  is  that 
which  it  has  in  common,  probably  in  increased 
degree,  with  the  so-called  wind-break.  By  break- 
ing the  velocity  of  dry  winds  and  possibly  enriching 
them  somewhat  with  moisture,  the  rate  of  evapo- 
ration over  a  neighboring  field  is  considerably  re- 
duced, so  that,  in  regions  where  winds  are  common, 
the  protection  shows  itself  in  increased  crops  on 
protected  fields. 

The  same  protection  against  cold  winds  may 
make  life  more  bearable,  and  enable  the  growing 
of  crops  which  could  otherwise  not  succeed.  Thus 
it  is  believed  that  during  the  abnormal  frosts 
which  a  few  years  ago  killed  most  of  the  orange 
groves  in  Florida,  many  which  had  good  forest 
shelter  survived.  It  is  also  reported  that  in  France 
the  cultivation  of  the  olive  has  become  impossible 
in  the  more  northern  departments,  owing  to  de- 
forestation. On  the  other  hand,  it  may  happen 
that  the  opening  toward  warmer  southern  winds 
may  modify  a  severer  climate  favorably.  This 
consideration    again    points   to   the   entirely  local 


THE   FOREST   AS  A   CONDITION.  71 

character  of  forest  influences,  which  may  change 
their  value. 

As  far,  then,  as  forest  influence  on  climate  is 
concerned,  we  must  admit  that  no  satisfactory  con- 
clusions have  been  reached,  excepting  as  to  the 
favorable  wind-break  effect.  That  wholesale  forest 
destruction  and  removal  must  change  the  climatic 
conditions  of  the  denuded  area  seems  an  entirely 
reasonable  assumption. 

The  cHmatic  influence  of  the  forest  upon  its 
neighborhood  would  finally  consist  in  the  commu- 
nication of  its  own  climatic  characteristics ;  i.e. 
shorter  range  of  thermometrical  extremes  and  more 
even  humidity,  in  general  modifying  extremes  of 
winter  and  summer. 

The  influence  on  waterflow,  although  much  fewer 
attempts  at  exact  determination  have  been  made, 
seems  much  more  generally  admitted.  Here,  too, 
extravagant  claims  have  been  made  as  to  the 
efficacy  of  forest  cover,  while  other  factors  which 
influence  waterflow  have  been  often  given  less 
consideration  than  they  deserve.  Thus  the  topog- 
raphy and  the  geologic  structure  exert  necessarily 
a  potent  influence,  which  a  forest  cover  may  either 
not  be  sufficient  or  else  is  not  needed  to  modify. 

The  philosophy  of  the  influence  on  waterflow 
rests  mainly  upon  the  recognition  that  the  rain  and 
snow  waters  penetrate  more  readily  a  forest-cov- 
ered soil  than  one  that  is  bared  of  this  protective 
cover.     The  action  here  is  of  a  threefold  nature : 


72        ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

first,  the  mechanical  obstruction  which  the  foliage 
offers  reduces  the  amount  of  the  water  which 
reaches  the  soil  and  lengthens  the  time  during 
which  it  can  do  so ;  the  foliage,  together  with  the 
loose  Htter  of  the  forest  floor,  also  reduces  the 
compacting  effect  of  the  raindrops  and  the  drying 
effect  of  sun  and  wind,  and  keeps  the  soil  granular, 
so  that  the  water  can  easily  percolate ;  then  the 
mechanical  obstruction  which  the  litter,  underbrush, 
and  trunks,  and  possibly  here  and  there  moss,  offer 
to  the  rapid  surface  drainage  of  waters,  lengthens 
the  time  during  which  this  percolation  may  take 
place;  and  thirdly,  the  network  of  deeply  pene- 
trating roots,  live  and  decayed,  offers  additional 
channels  for  a  change  of  surface  drainage  into  sub- 
drainage.  In  addition,  it  is  claimed  that,  owing  to 
the  influence  on  temperature  and  moisture  condi- 
tions of  the  air,  together  with  reduced  evaporation, 
more  water  becomes  available  to  the  soil,  and  cer- 
tainly the  fact  that  the  water,  by  ready  percolation, 
is  withdrawn  from  the  dissipative  effects  of  sun  and 
wind  must  tend  in  this  direction. 

The  sponge  theory  so  often  proclaimed  by  lay 
writers  is  rather  a  misconception  of  physical  laws 
and  of  the  behavior  of  a  sponge,  although  a  moss- 
cover —  which  is  by  no  means  the  usual  cover  of 
a  forest  soil  —  may  be  of  great  value  in  preventing 
rapid  surface  drainage.  This  is  attested  by  Robert 
Gerwig,  the  builder  of  the  St.  Gotthard  railway :  — 

"  One  German  square  mile  of  moss-cover,"  he 


THE   FOREST   AS    A   CONDITION.  73 

says,  "can  retain  1,000,000  to  1,500,000  cubic 
meters  of  water  (i  English  square  mile  will  hold 
14,000,000  to  20,000,000  cubic  feet).  It  will,  in 
many  cases,  depend  on  a  difference  of  20  to  30 
cubic  meters  (700  to  1000  cubic  feet)  per  second 
of  waterfiow  from  the  surface  of  a  square  mile, 
whether  a  flood  will  be  dangerous  or  not.  The 
bare  slope  would  give  up  these  20  to  30  cubic 
meters  per  second,  and  deliver  the  1,000,000 
to  1,500,000  cubic  meters  in  15  hours.  If  it  is 
remembered  that  damaging  flood-waters  are  of 
short  duration,  it  becomes  evident  how  even  mod- 
erate assumptions  regarding  the  amount  of  water 
retained  in  the  moss-cover  (or  in  the  forest  litter 
and  soil  of  a  forest)  produce  favorable  results." 

It  stands  to  reason  that  in  this  direction  the  con- 
dition of  the  forest  cover  must  have  much  to  do 
with  the  degree  of  its  effectiveness,  and  that  in 
this  connection  the  condition  of  the  forest  floor  is 
of  more  moment  than  that  of  the  leaf  canopy. 
Hence  we  may  find  that  while  the  tree  growth 
may  be  left  intact,  yet,  if  the  loose  Htter  and  under- 
brush has  been  burned  off  and  the  soil  been  com- 
pacted by  the  tramping  of  sheep  and  cattle,  the 
effectiveness  in  regulating  waterflow  is  much  im- 
paired. 

It  is  also  apparent  that  with  heavy  rainfalls 
and  on  steep  declivities  on  compact  and  sparsely 
fissured  Hmestone  rock,  even  the  best-kept  forest 
growth  may  not  be  capable  of  retarding  the  surface 


74  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

drainage  long  enough  to  prevent  a  resultant  flood 
in  the  river. 

Particular  interest  in  this  connection  attaches  to 
the  influence  of  forest  cover  on  the  melting  of  snow 
masses,  which  gives  rise  to  spring  floods.  In  the 
dense  forest,  the  snow  is  usually  less  deep,  a  part 
being  intercepted  by  the  crowns  of  trees  and  evap- 
orated, and  lies  more  uniformly,  owing  to  the  absence 
of  drifting  winds.  It  is  a  well-noted  experience 
that  it  will  lie  in  the  shade  of  the  woods  from  one 
to  two  weeks  longer,  i.e.  melt  so  much  more  slowly. 
These  elements  of  distribution  in  space  and  time 
must  have  an  influence  upon  the  rapidity  of  sur- 
face flow,  and  if  the  soil  is  not  frozen,  time  is 
given  for  percolation  and  gradual  removal. 

Here,  again,  weather  conditions  may  be  unfavor- 
able, the  soil  remaining  frozen  and  the  melting 
proceeding  rapidly,  when  the  forest  effect  may  be 
lost.  Nevertheless,  while  the  forest  effect  may 
become  powerless  in  exceptional  cases  and  under 
special  conditions,  the  tendency  of  changing  sur- 
face drainage  into  subterranean  drainage  must  be 
beneficial  in  the  majority  of  cases.  It  may  also 
happen  that  the  soil  conditions,  by  their  loose 
structure,  as  in  cinder  cones,  lava,  or  loose  sand 
hills,  are  such  as  to  permit  percolation  readily, 
when  the  office  of  the  forest  cover  can  be  dispensed 
with. 

The  value  of  the  change  of  surface  drainage 
into  subterraneous  drainage  becomes  apparent  in 


THE    FOREST   AS   A    CONDITION.  75 

the  more  even  riverflow.  While  the  waters  that 
run  off  over  the  surface  collect  rapidly  and  are  car- 
ried away  in  floods,  giving  rise  to  high  water  stages, 
the  percolated  water  finds  its  way  into  the  river 
slowly  by  underground  channels,  feeding,  on  its 
way,  springs  and  brooks,  or  is  collected  as  ground 
water  by  seepage  at  lower  levels. 

This  distribution  of  the  water,  which  lengthens 
the  time  during  which  the  atmospheric  precipita- 
tion can  be  usefully  employed,  and  which,  under 
circumstances,  may  lengthen  the  supply  for  years, 
the  water  reaching  the  river  years  after  it  fell  on 
the  mountain  top,  renders  the  riverflow  indepen- 
dent of  wet  and  dry  seasons,  and  equalizes  its 
flow,  —  a  condition  of  most  importance  for  all  in- 
dustries dependent  on  water-power,  navigation,  irri- 
gation, etc. 

This  forest  effect  on  the  run-off  of  terrestrial 
waters  is  naturally  greatest  and  most  important  in 
mountainous  regions,  where  the  water  has  the 
tendency  to  collect  quickly  and  to  be  carried  off 
rapidly,  but  it  also  exists  in  the  level  plain,  where 
it  has  the  tendency  to  elevate  the  general  ground- 
water level  and  thereby  make  a  reserve  available 
during  times  of  drouth. 

In  close  connection  with  these  effects  of  forest 
cover  upon  the  flow  of  water  stands  its  influence 
on  the  stability  of  the  soil.  The  tendency  of  the 
rain  waters  falling  on  hills  and  mountains  is  to  carry 
in  their  descent  to  the  valley  loose  particles  of  soil 


76       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

with  them,  and  as  the  Httle  rivulets  run  together 
and  acquire  force,  gravel,  stones,  and  even  large 
rocks  and  boulders  are  broken  loose  and  moved  to 
lower  levels  by  the  torrent.  This  action,  known 
as  erosion,  takes  place  everywhere  more  or  less 
rapidly,  according  to  the  presence  or  absence  and 
character  of  the  soil  cover,  and  no  better  and  more 
efficient  protection  against  it  is  to  be  found  than  a 
dense  forest  cover. 

A  grass  cover  may  also  protect  the  soil  under- 
neath against  the  erosive  action  of  the  waters, 
whenever  the  declivity  is  not  too  steep,  but  since 
the  rains  do  not  penetrate  through  the  dense 
greensward  of  the  mountain  meadows,  and  hence 
are  carried  off  superficially,  they  acquire  a  mo- 
mentum which  finally  leads  to  the  same  gullying 
and  erosive  action  which  a  naked  soil  experiences. 

The  forest  alone  is  capable  of  obstructing  the 
mechanical  effect  of  the  rainfall  upon  the  soil,  and 
retarding  the  rapid  surface  drainage  which  be- 
comes the  carrier  of  the  debris.  Here,  again,  the 
condition  of  the  forest  floor,  rather  than  the  tree 
growth,  is  the  effective  element. 

If  it  is  considered  that,  in  the  United  States,  the 
amount  of  erosion  at  present  may  be  estimated  at 
200  square  miles  per  year,  rendering  thereby  large 
areas  of  fertile  soil  unfertile  and  at  least  tempo- 
rarily useless  for  human  occupancy,  the  economic 
importance  of  a  conservative  policy  for  the  moun- 
tain forests  may  be  readily  apparent. 


THE   FOREST  AS   A   CONDITION.  jy 

The  experiences  of  France  in  this  particular 
are  incontrovertible  arguments,  and  furnish,  in 
later  years,  experimental  evidence  of  the  effec- 
tiveness of  a  forest  cover  in  arresting  the  progress 
of  erosion.  France,  too,  furnishes  perhaps  the 
most  striking  and  most  extensive  example  of  how 
the  loose,  shifting  sands,  the  dunes  and  sand  hills 
in  the  plain,  may  be  changed  by  a  forest  cover 
from  a  useless,  nay  dangerous,  condition  into  one 
of  profitable  occupation. 

Regarding  the  sanitary  influence  of  forests,  there 
have  also  been  many  claims  made  which  cannot  be 
substantiated.  The  original  principal  claim  was 
that  the  physiological  action  of  the  foliage,  in  ab- 
sorbing carbonic  acid  from  the  air  and  exhaling 
oxygen,  made  forest  air  healthier,  but  it  has  been 
calculated  that  the  amount  of  oxygen  so  exhaled  is 
insignificant  in  proportion  to  the  needs  of  human 
respiration,  and  is  probably  offset  by  the  increase 
of  carbonic  acid  resulting  from  the  decomposition 
of  organic  matter  in  the  forest. 

Then  it  was  claimed  that  by  the  transpiration  of 
the  foliage  wet  ground  may  be  drained,  and  thus 
made  healthier,  and  in  this  connection  the  Eucalyp- 
tus plantations  at  the  monastery  of  Tre  Fontane  in 
the  Campagna  Romana  are  frequently  cited  as  hav- 
ing removed  the  malarial  conditions  of  that  region. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  fevers  still  occur,  even 
under  the  Eucalyptus  plantation,  although  more 
rarely.      This    comparative    improvement    seems 


yS  ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

attributable  mainly  to  the  rebuilding  of  the  old 
Roman  drainage  canals,  which  had  been  allowed 
to  collapse,  and  the  malaria-breeding  mosquitoes 
have  been  reduced  thereby.  In  any  case,  where 
drainage  is  to  be  secured,  artificial  canalization 
could  probably  be  made  more  effective  than  forest 
planting.  Nevertheless,  a  sanitary  influence  exists, 
as  every  one  can  experience,  but  it  is  mainly  of  a 
negative  character :  absence  of  smoke,  dust,  obnox- 
ious gases,  and  of  strong  winds  which  characterize 
the  air  of  cities,  and  which  to  some  extent  (at  least 
dust  and  winds)  occur  in  the  open,  renders  a  forest 
region  more  healthful. 

Furthermore,  it  has  been  found  that  forest  air  is 
more  free  from  pathogenic  microbes.  Especially 
those  baciUi  which  develop  in  the  soil,  like  the 
cholera,  typhus,  and  yellow  fever  bacilli,  find  in 
the  forest  soil  less  favorable  conditions  for  develop- 
ment, and,  owing  to  the  absence  of  strong  winds, 
are  less  apt  to  be  carried  into  the  air,  where  they 
would  be  breathed  by  man.  In  fact,  in  the  dense 
forest,  where  the  variation  of  soil  moisture  is  small 
and  decomposing  humus  keeps  the  soil  acid,  no 
pathogenic  microbes  have  as  yet  been  found. 
Here,  too,  to  be  sure,  the  degree  of  effectiveness 
must  depend  on  the  condition  of  the  forest  and 
especially  of  the  forest  floor. 

It  is  also  not  impossible  that  the  opening  of 
large  swampy  forest  districts  may  improve  health 
conditions  by  changing  moisture  conditions;  this 


THE   FOREST   AS    A   CONDITION.  79 

especially  with  regard  to  malarial  diseases.  These 
are  not  produced  by  bacilli,  but  by  parasitic  pro- 
tozoa {Plas^nodium  malarice),  which  seem  to  thrive 
in  the  swamp  conditions.  As  long  as  the  water 
covers  the  soil,  there  is  no  danger,  but  as  soon  as 
the  water  recedes,  the  plasmodia  develop,  and  with 
the  assistance  of  mosquitoes  or  by  other  means  are 
communicated  to  man. 

A  further  indirect  sanitary  influence  must  not  be 
overlooked  in  our  modern  economy  of  city  life.  The 
recuperation  of  bodily  energy  and  of  spirit  which 
an  occasional  sojourn  in  the  cool,  bracing,  and  in- 
spiriting forest  air  brings  to  the  weary  dweller  in 
the  city  must  not  be  underestimated  as  an  element 
in  the  general  health  conditions  of  a  people.  In 
addition,  the  question  of  a  good  water  supply  is 
being  recognized  as  more  and  more  dependent 
upon  the  condition  of  the  sources  of  supply. 

Knowing  that  a  large  number  of  diseases  are 
bred  in  soils,  it  becomes  essential  that  the  drinking 
water  carry  as  little  soil  particles  as  possible,  and 
although,  by  artificial  means  of  filtration  and  sedi- 
mentation, the  river  water  may  be  freed  of  sand 
and  bacilli,  we  would  have  more  assurance  of 
freedom  from  disease,  if  the  water  came  from  a 
well-forested  region,  where,  as  we  have  seen,  no 
pathogenic  bacteria  are  produced,  and  if  the  wash- 
ing of  the  soil  into  the  river  on  the  way  to  the 
reservoirs  were  prevented  by  proper  attention  to 
preventing  the  erosion  along  its  banks. 


8o  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

Summarizing  the  present  knowledge  of  forest 
influences  and  viewing  it  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  practical  economist,  it  will  appear  that  there  is 
sufficient  evidence  of  the  value  of  properly  located 
forest  areas,  as  affecting  at  least  water  and  soil 
conditions  in  a  marked  degree,  and  in  a  minor 
degree  health  and  climatic  conditions,  to  make  the 
subject  of  forest  conservancy  one  of  great  impor- 
tance. Especially  is  this  the  case  with  the  forest 
cover  on  mountain  sides  and  in  the  hill  country, 
where  the  destructive  tendencies  of  the  water  are 
apt  to  gather  force,  if  not  modified  by  the  obstruc- 
tion of  the  forest  floor. 

It  is  always  to  be  kept  in  mind  that  not  the 
extent,  so  much  as  the  location  and  condition  of 
the  forest  cover  is  of  greatest  importance,  and  that 
the  effect  can  be  determined  only  with  reference 
to  local  conditions  in  every  particular  case. 

The  protection  of  the  soil  cover  at  the  head 
waters  of  streams  thus  becomes  a  concern  of  state 
activity,  and  the  estabhshment  of  forest  belts  in 
drouth-ridden  countries,  or  the  fixation  of  sand 
dunes  and  drifting  sands,  becomes  a  public  work  of 
internal  improvement. 

In  the  Appendix  will  be  found  further  details 
regarding  the  measured  forest  influences,  in  the 
form  of  a  resum6,  taken  from  Bulletin  VII, 
Forestry  Division,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture, 
entitled  "  Forest  Influences,"  1893,  in  which  this 
question  is  exhaustively  discussed. 


CHAPTER    IV 

FOREST   AND   FORESTRY  DEFINED 

From  age  to  age  the  relations  of  man  to  man, 
and  of  man  to  nature,  change  according  to  the 
development  of  science  and  art  and  the  progress 
of  civilization  in  general.  What  was  important 
once  has  lost  its  significance  to-day,  and  what 
appears  to  us  highly  significant  at  the  present 
time  had  no  existence  in  the  minds  of  our  ances- 
tors. With  these  changes  in  our  conditions  and 
conceptions  the  language  used  in  expressing  them 
also  changes  ;  not  only  does  our  vocabulary  in- 
crease, but  words  long  used  change  their  meaning, 
sometimes  so  radically,  that  little  is  left  of  the 
first  meaning. 

The  conception  and  the  word  "  forest  "  has  in 
this  way  through  historical  development  experi- 
enced a  change  to  such  an  extent,  that  the  original 
conception  and  meaning  are  almost,  if  not  entirely, 
obliterated.  In  this  change,  both  of  conception 
and  meaning,  Teutonic  development  has  made  its 
impress.  The  word  of  Old  High  German  origin, 
"  Voorst,"  used  to  designate  the  segregated  prop- 
erty of  the  king,  or  leader  of  the  tribe.  Toward 
G  8i 


82  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

the  end  of  the  eighth  century,  latinized  into 
"  foresta,"  or  "  forestis,"  it  assumed  a  more  re- 
stricted meaning,  namely,  as  referring  to  all  the 
royal  woods,  in  which  the  right  to  hunt  was  re- 
served by  the  king,  either  for  himself  or  for  those 
of  his  vassals  to  whom  he  ceded  the  right  to  the 
chase.  (See  Appendix.)  Gradually,  however,  the 
kings  employed  their  royal  prerogative  of  forbid- 
ding any  kind  of  action,  under  threat  of  the  "  ban," 
in  extending  their  exclusive  right  to  the  chase,  not 
only  to  neighboring  woods,  but  to  fields  as  well. 

By  and  by  the  temporal  and  spiritual  princes 
and  feudal  lords  succeeded  in  having  their  own 
holdings  protected  in  the  same  manner,  and  de- 
clared as  "ban  forests,"  as  far  as  the  hunting  was 
concerned,  and  by  the  thirteenth  century  this  pre- 
rogative was  freely  exercised  by  noble  landholders. 
Under  the  plea  of  protecting  the  chase,  the  rights 
to  cut  wood  (which  had  been  free  to  all),  to  clear 
for  agricultural  use,  and  to  pasture,  were  gradually 
restricted,  and  these  restrictions,  which  had  referred 
at  first  only  to  the  property  of  the  lords,  were  soon 
extended  to  apply  also  to  the  property  of  others 
which  lay  within  the  "  ban,"  so  that  at  the  end  of 
the  ninth  century  a  "forest"  meant  a  large  tract 
of  land,  including  woods  as  well  as  pastures,  fields, 
and  whole  villages,  on  which  not  only  the  rights  to 
the  chase  were  reserved  to  the  king  or  his  vassals, 
but  the  persons  living  on  it  in  all  their  relations 
fell  under  the  special  jurisdiction  of  the  "forest 


FOREST   AND    FORESTRY    DEFINED.  8^ 

laws."  It  was  then  a  legal  term,  and  had  no  refer- 
ence to  natural  but  only  to  legal  conditions,  with 
the  royal  prerogative,  the  right  to  hunt,  as  a  basis. 
Afforesting  and  disafforesthig  were  correspondingly 
the  legal  terms  which  denoted  the  placing  of  dis- 
tricts under  the  forest  ban  and  forest  laws,  or  their 
release  from  these  restrictions. 

The  forests  of  Dean,  of  Windsor,  of  Epping,  of 
Sherwood,  and  the  New  Forest,  in  England,  made 
famous  by  legend  and  history,  were  such  districts, 
set  aside  by  the  Norman  kings  for  their  pastime.^ 

The  care  which,  under  the  forest  laws,  was 
bestowed  upon  the  woodlands  by  special  officers 
called  foresters,  first  for  the  sake  of  preserving  the 
game,  then  for  the  sake  of  continuity  of  wood  sup- 
pHes,  and  the  later  release  of  the  fields  from  the 
application  of  these  laws,  no  doubt  had  a  tendency 
to  restrict  the  term  forest  again  to  the  woodlands 
alone,  until  finally,  with  the  decadence  of  the  regal 
prerogative,  the  old  meaning  wore  away  entirely, 
and  it  referred  no  longer  to  a  legal  but  to  a 
natural  condition,  land  covered  with  wood  growth 

^  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  mediseval  conception  and  use 
of  the  terms  Hngered  until  nearly  the  present  day,  as"  evidenced  by 
a  suit  at  court,  decided  in  1862,  instituted  by  one  of  the  dukes  of 
Athole  in  Scotland,  who  hold  extensive  mountain  districts  either  in 
their  own  right  or  as  "  foresters  "  for  the  crown,  in  virtue  of  which 
one  of  them  claimed  the  power  of  preventing  his  neighbor,  the 
Laird  of  Lude,  from  killing  deer  on  his  own  lands,  and  the  right  to 
enter  the  Laird's  lands  himself  for  the  purpose.  The  courts  decided 
adversely. 


84  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

in  contradistinction  to  prairies  and  plains,  meadow 
and  field. 

In  the  German  language,  with  the  more  intensive 
development  in  the  rational  treatment  of  the  wood- 
lands, the  limitation  is  carried  farther,  the  word 
Forst  being  specific,  and  meaning  the  woods  which 
are  placed  under  management,  the  woods  as  an 
object  of  man's  cultivatory  activity,  while  the  term 
Wald  is  generic,  and  refers  to  the  natural  condition 
of  the  soil  cover.  In  the  English  language  this 
distinction  has  not  yet  become  settled ;  especially 
in  the  United  States  the  lexicographers  seem  to 
consider  large  extent  and  virgin  or  natural  growth, 
an  absence  of  cultivation,  as  distinctive  attributes 
to  the  word  forest,  while  the  word  tvoodhnids  is 
vaguely  and  inconsistently  defined  as  the  generic 
term  for  land  covered  or  interspersed  with  trees 
and  of  less  extent  than  forest,  or  else  land  on  which 
"  trees  are  suffered  to  grow  either  for  fuel  or  tim- 
ber "  (Webster),  accentuating  thereby  relation  to 
the  uses  of  man.     (See  Appendix.) 

Etymology,  linguistic  sense,  and  as  we  believe 
actual  usage,  especially  in  the  literature  of  later 
times,  since  the  subject  of  forests  and  forestry  has 
become  prominent,  would  warrant  us  to  define,  more 
precisely,  zvoodland  as  the  general  or  generic 
term  for  land  naturally  covered  with  woody  growth 
in  contradistinction  to  land  not  so  covered ;  forest 
as  the  restricted  or  specific  term,  namely,  woodland 
whether  of  natural  growth  or  planted  by  man,  con- 


FOREST   AND   FORESTRY   DEFINED.  85 

sidered  in  relation  to  the  economic  interests  of  man 
and  from  the  standpoint  of  national  economy,  as 
an  object  of  ma?t's  care,  a  woodland  placed  under 
management  for  ^^ forest  purposes,''  and,  we  may 
also  add,  exhibiting  "forest  conditions.''  These 
last  limitations  are  important  ones  and  lead  to  the 
necessity  of  further  definition. 

By  the  first  restriction  we  exclude  at  once  those 
lands  covered  with  trees  or  woody  growth,  which 
serve  other  than  forest  purposes,  such  as  coffee 
plantations,  orchards,  which  are  grown  for  fruit, 
roadside  plantings  and  parks,  which  are  planted  or 
kept  for  shade  and  ornament,  wind-breaks  con- 
sisting of  single  rows  of  trees,  which,  although  like 
the  other  conditions  of  tree  growth  mentioned  may 
answer  some  functions  of  a  forest  growth,  are  not 
primarily  intended  to  fulfil  forest  purposes  and 
lack  what  we  have  called  "forest  conditions." 

The  first  and  foremost  purpose  of  a  forest  growth 
is  to  supply  us  with  wood  material ;  it  is  the  sub- 
stance of  the  trees  itself,  not  their  fruit,  their  beauty, 
their  shade,  their  shelter,  that  constitute  the  pri- 
mary object  of  this  class  of  woodland. 

With  the  settlement  of  the  country  and  the  grow- 
ing needs  of  civilization  this  use  must  and  will 
attach  as  an  essential  predicate,  a  fundamental 
requisite,  to  any  woodland  left  as  such,  whatever 
other  purposes  it  may  or  may  not  be  designed  to 
subserve,  temporarily  or  continuously. 

Thus  if  the  state  of  New  York  withdraws  from 


86        ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

such  use  a.  large  woodland  area  in  the  Adirondacks 
to  subserve  solely  other  purposes,  this  can  be  only 
a  temporary  withdrawal  from  its  main  purpose 
which  time  and  intelligent  conception  of  rational 
economy  will  reverse. 

Just  so,  if  a  private  individual  sets  apart  for  the 
purpose  of  a  game  preserve  a  piece  of  woodland, 
and  keeps  out  the  axe  which  would  utilize  in  part 
the  useful  timber,  he  frustrates  the  primary  object 
of  the  forest  growth  temporarily  and  commits  an 
economic  mistake. 

Occasionally  it  is  not  the  wood  but  some  other 
part  of  the  tree  itself  that  is  the  main  object  of  the 
harvest,  as  for  instance  the  bark  for  tanning  pur- 
poses or  the  resinous  contents  which  are  transformed 
into  naval  stores.  Yet,  as  a  rule,  the  wood  too  is 
utilized  and  at  least  forest  conditions  are  main- 
tained in  the  production  of  the  crop.  But  when 
it  comes  to  a  maple  sugar  orchard,  expressly  grown 
for  the  purpose,  or  the  cork  oak  plantation,  man- 
aged for  the  cork,  the  primary  object  not  only 
begins  to  vanish,  but  also  the  second  criterion  of 
a  forest,  namely,  forest  conditions,  is  absent,  and 
this  kind  of  woodland  ceases  to  fall  properly  under 
the  term  "forest,"  the  designation  of  orchard  or 
plantation  being  more  appropriate. 

Besides  the  great  primary  object  of  forest  growth, 
that  of  furnishing  useful  materials  either  of  wood 
or  parts  of  the  wood  substance,  there  has  been  rec- 
ognized indistinctly  through  all  ages,  more  clearly 


FOREST    AND    FORESTRY   DEFINED.  Sj 

during  the  last  century  and  with  greater  precision 
during  the  last  thirty  to  forty  years,  that  forest 
growth  serves  an  object  in  the  economy  of  nature 
and  of  man  which  under  certain  conditions  may 
become  equally  if  not  more  important  than  this 
direct  primary  one. 

We  have  learned  that  in  general  all  conditions 
in  nature  are  interrelated,  and  in  particular  that 
the  condition  of  the  surface  cover  of  the  ground  not 
only  influences  more  or  less  potently  the  condition 
of  the  soil  and  meteorological  factors  under  the 
cover,  but  that  this  influence  reaches  even  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  cover  to  its  neighborhood ;  and,  with 
the  recognition  of  this  influence  upon  soil,  temper- 
ature, and  water  conditions  a  new  important  forest 
use,  namely,  as  a  protective  cover  and  cHmatic 
factor,  has  become  established,  so  that  we  may  dis- 
tinguish, according  to  whether  the  one  or  the  other 
purpose  becomes  more  prominent,  supply  forests 
2iXi^  protection  forests,  although  the  latter  invariably 
also  furnish  supplies,  and  finally,  when  pleasure 
and  game  cover  are  the  main  objects,  we  may  speak 
of  liixjiry  forests. 

To  fulfil  either  or  both  of  the  first  two,  more 
important  functions  satisfactorily  or  continuously, 
to  furnish  most  useful  material  and  to  act  as  a 
protective  cover,  it  is  needful  that  the  woodland 
designated  as  forest  exhibit  what  we  have  called 
^^ forest  co7iditiojis.'' 

A  forest  in  the  sense  in  which  we  use  the  term, 


88  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

as  an  economic  factor,  is  by  no  means  a  mere  col- 
lection of  trees,  but  an  organic  zvhole  in  which  all 
parts,  although  apparently  heterogeneous,  jumbled 
together  by  accident  as  it  were  and  apparently 
unrelated,  bear  a  close  relation  to  each  other  and 
are  as  interdependent  as  any  other  beings  and  con- 
ditions in  nature. 

Not  only  is  there  interrelation  between  plant 
and  climate  and  between  plant  and  soil  conditions, 
but  also  an  interrelation  between  the  individuals 
composing  the  forest  growth  based  on  definable 
laws,  and  finally  an  interrelation  between  the 
arborescent  growth  and  the  lower  vegetation  ;  the 
whole  being  a  result  of  reactions  of  plant  life  to 
all  surrounding  influences  and  reciprocally  of 
influences  on  all  elements  of  its  environment. 
Even  the  seemingly  lawless  mixture  of  species 
which  we  find  in  the  virgin  forest  is  not  altogether 
fortuitous,  but  a  result  of  such  reactions. 

Out  of  these  reactions  and  interrelations  result 
conditions  which  we  call  forest  conditions,  and 
which  not  onl)  distinguish  the  forest  from  other 
collections  of  trees  or  woodlands,  but  also  impart 
a  particular  individuality  and  character  to  the 
forest  growth  of  each  locality.  Even  the  virgin 
woodlands  may  lack  what  we  conceive  as  ideal 
forest  conditions,  when  in  the  struggle  for  ex- 
istence other  forms  of  vegetation  have  still  the 
advantage  over  the  arborescent  growth  and  hence 
forest  purposes  are  imperfectly  performed,  or  when 


FOREST  AND   FORESTRY   DEFINED.         89 

the  latter  has  not  yet  been  able  to  fully  establish 
itself  under  unfavorable  soil  and  climatic  condi- 
tions. In  such  cases,  which  are  frequent  in  the 
arid  and  sub-arid  and  the  arctic  regions,  the  single 
stragglers  of  trees,  the  park-like  open  stand,  their 
stunted  and  scrubby  appearance  may  leave  it  doubt- 
ful whether  the  term  "  forest,"  with  its  economic 
significance,  is  applicable  to  these  woodlands,  or 
may  exempt  them  from  consideration  under  the 
term. 

Forest  conditions,  then,  imply  a  more  or  less 
exclusive  occupancy  of  the  soil  by  arborescent 
growth,  a  close  stand  of  trees,  as  a  consequence 
of  which  a  form  of  individual  tree  development 
results  unlike  that  produced  in  the  open  stand, 
and  a  more  or  less  dense  shading  of  the  ground 
which  excludes  largely  the  lower  vegetation. 

By  so  much  as  these  conditions  are  deficient,  by 
so  much  does  the  forest  fail  to  fulfil  its  economic 
functions,  as  a  source  of  useful  material  and  as 
a  factor  in  influencing  climatic  and  soil  conditions. 

With  regard  to  the  first  function,  it  must  be 
understood  that  it  is  not  wood  simply  that  is 
required  for  the  industries  of  man,  but  wood  of 
certain  quahties  and  sizes,  such  as  are  fit  to  be  cut 
into  lumber,  as  boards,  planks,  joists,  scantlings, 
or  into  timber  as  beams,  sills,  and  posts,  into  bolts 
free  from  blemish,  which  can  be  advantageously 
manufactured  into  the  thousands  of  articles  that 
are   indispensable    to    human    civilization.      Such 


90        ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

sizes  and  qualities  combined  are  not  as  a  rule  pro- 
duced by  trees  in  open  stand.  Their  production 
requires  the  close  stand,  by  which  the  trees  are 
forced  to  reach  up  for  light  in  order  to  escape  the 
shade  of  their  neighbors  and  all  growth  energy  is 
utilized  in  the  bole  or  trunk,  the  most  useful  part 
to  man,  instead  of  being  dissipated  in  the  growth 
of  branches.  The  useful  forest  tree  is  the  one 
that  has  grown  up  with  close  neighbors,  which 
have  deprived  it  of  side  light  and  thereby  forced 
it  to  form  a  long  cylindrical  shaft,  to  shed  its  side 
branches  early,  which  if  persisting  would  have  pro- 
duced knotty  lumber,  to  confine  its  branch  growth 
to  the  crown  alone. 

Such  conditions  are  also  the  most  favorable  in 
fulfilling  the  second  function  of  the  forest  as  regu- 
lator of  waterflow  and  climate,  for  it  is  the  shaded 
condition  of  the  soil  and  the  effective  barrier  to 
sun  and  winds,  results  of  a  dense  stand,  by  which 
the  forest  exercises  these  regulatory  functions. 

The  history  of  the  woodlands  has  been  the  same 
in  all  parts  of  the  world,  progressing  according  to 
the  cultural  development  of  the  people.  First  the 
forest  was  valued  as  a  harbor  of  game ;  then  it 
appeared  as  an  impediment  to  agricultural  devel- 
opment, and  relentless  war  was  waged  against  it, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  value  of  its  material 
stores  made  it  an  object  of  greedy  exploitation,  and 
only  in  a  highly  civilized  nation  and  in  a  well-settled 
country  does  the  conception  of  the  relation  of  for- 


FOREST    AND    FORESTRY    DEFINED.  91 

ests  to  the  future  welfare  of  the  community  lead 
to  a  rational  treatment  of  forests  as  such  for  con- 
tinuity and  to  the  appHcation  of  the  principles 
embodied  in  the  science  of  forestry. 

There  existed  some  knowledge  as  to  the  nature  of 
forest  growth  and  the  advantages  of  its  systematic 
use  among  the  Romans  and  Greeks.  Ancus  Mar- 
cius,  the  fourth  king  of  Rome  (about  640  b.c), 
claimed  the  forests  as  a  public  domain  and  placed 
them  under  special  officers.  Later,  under  the  re- 
public, they  were  in  special  charge  of  the  consuls. 
Subsequently  the  continuous  wars  seem  to  have 
wiped  out  not  only  the  administrative  features  but 
the  forests  themselves,  and  the  Italians  of  modern 
times  until  lately  had  no  more  conception  of  the 
importance  of  the  forest  cover  than  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  so  that  Italy  to-day  furnishes 
about  as  good  an  object  lesson  as  any  country  of 
the  evil  effects  of  forest  devastation. 

The  real  art  of  forestry  is  unquestionably  of 
Teutonic  origin,  or  was  at  least  conceived  rather 
early  among  the  Germanic  tribes;  the  first  attempts 
at  it  seem  to  antedate  even  Charlemagne's  time. 

Long  before  the  royal  prerogative  of  the  chase 
lent  an  incentive  to  conservative  treatment,  there 
existed  among  the  communistic  villagers,  who  were 
aggregated  in  the  so-called  "  Mark,"  owning  all 
their  land  in  common,  crude  but  systematic  at- 
tempts at  rational  utilization  and  even  reproduction. 
The  amount  of  wood  that  might  be  harvested  with- 


92  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

out  detriment  to  future  crops  was  determined, 
the  better  kind  of  timber  being  more  economically 
cut,  and  the  timber  to  be  cut  was  designated  by 
officials,  whose  duty  it  was  to  superintend  the  fell- 
ing, the  removal,  and  even  the  use  of  the  same. 
By  and  by  even  the  firewood  was  designated,  the 
dead  and  inferior  material  being  assigned  for  it. 
Charring  and  boxing  for  resin  were  carried  on 
under  precautions.  The  number  of  swine  to  be 
allowed  in  the  oak  and  beech  forests  was  deter- 
mined according  to  the  quantity  of  seed  mast. 
Grazing  in  the  woods  was  allowed  only  under  cer- 
tain regulations  as  to  districts  and  number  of  cattle 
for  every  "  Marker."  The  great  damage  by  sheep 
and  goats  was  recognized  and  their  pasturing  in 
the  woods  prohibited  as  early  as  1158.  Even  an 
Arbor-day  was  anticipated  in  some  parts,  each 
man  having  to  plant,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
forester,  a  number  of  trees  proportionate  to  his 
consumption. 

In  1368,  the  city  of  Nuremberg  began  on  a  larger 
scale  systematic  reforestation  of  waste  lands  with 
pines,  which  was  imitated  by  other  communities, 
and  we  have  documentary  evidence  that  in  1491  a 
regular  system  of  annual  sowings  of  oak  was  in 
existence  in  the  communal  forests  of  Seligenstadt. 
By  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  indeed,  fully 
organized  forest  administrations  existed,  and  various 
"  Forstordnungen  "  (forest  ordinances)  prescribed 
in  detail  the  manner  of  exploiting  and  reestablish- 


FOREST   AND   FORESTRY   DEFINED.         93 

ing  of  wood  crops,  and  trespasses  of  all  kinds  were 
punished  with  heavy  penalties. 

The  first  beginnings,  then,  of  a  rational  forest 
management  were  of  democratic  origin,  —  a  man- 
agement by  the  people  for  the  people,  who  held 
the  welfare  of  the  community  higher  than  the  satis- 
faction of  the  greed  of  the  few.  To  be  sure,  this 
state  of  things  did  not  last.  The  Thirty-years 
War,  which  extirpated  many  of  the  cities  and  vil- 
lages, and  brought  other  economic  changes,  reduced 
their  holdings  of  forest  property,  which  fell  into 
the  hands  of  princes  and  the  nobility,  and  gradually 
the  communal  forest  was  supplanted  by  the  royal 
or  lordly  forest,  or  through  partition  by  the  private 
forest  of  the  single  farmer.  Then  came  a  period 
of  decline  in  forest  management.  Private  greed 
disregarded  the  many  regulations  and  ordinances 
against  devastation.  Fires  ruined  large  areas  in 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  and  in 
addition  excessive  exploitation  reduced  the  forest 
area  in  extent  and  brought  it  into  poor  condition. 
That  era,  reaching  partly  into  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  presents  conditions  some- 
what similar  to  those  with  which  we  are  now  con- 
fronted in  this  country.  The  Revolution  of  1792 
opened  wide  the  doors  to  the  destructive  element, 
and  the  teachings  of  Adam  Smith  still  further 
reduced  the  wholesome  restrictive  functions  of 
governments,  and  induced  a  movement  to  sell  all 
government  property.     The  damage  which  France 


94  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY. 

—  up  to  that  time  living  under  a  tolerably  well 
developed  forest  policy  —  is  now  working  to  repair 
resulted  from  these  times  of  forest  dismemberment 
and  forest  destruction.  Naturally  voices  against 
this  reckless  procedure  became  louder  and  louder, 
as  the  effects  of  continued  forest  devastation  and 
improper  clearing  became  more  and  more  visible, 
and,  as  the  governments  became  stronger  after  the 
Napoleonic  wars,  reconstruction  and  return  to  con- 
servative policies  were  bound  to  follow.  At  the  same 
time  the  technical  part  of  forestry,  the  methods  of 
forestry  practice,  had  been  gradually  developed  in  an 
empiric  way,  and  with  the  development  of  natural 
sciences  were  placed  on  a  more  stable  basis  and 
taught  in  special  forestry  schools  and  at  universi- 
ties by  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  and  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  We  can  fairly  well 
compare  our  present  movement  in  the  United 
States  on  behalf  of  rational  forest  management 
with  what  was  going  on  in  Germany  a  hundred 
years  ago.  A  fuller  study  into  the  history  of  this 
movement  in  the  old  countries,  at  which  we  have 
here  glanced  only  briefly,  would  aid  better  than 
any  academic  discussions  and  arguments  to  a  full 
understanding  of  both  the  economic  and  technical 
problems  involved. 

In  the  pioneer  days  of  a  newly  settled  country, 
which  is  forest-covered  like  the  eastern  United 
States,  man  by  necessity  must  remove  a  part  of  the 
forest  growth  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  ground  for 


FOREST    AND    FORESTRY   DEFINED.  95 

food  production.  That  part  which  is  not  cleared  for 
such  purpose  he  exploits,  usually  regardless  of  the 
conditions  in  which  he  leaves  it,  cutting  out  the  best 
trees  of  the  most  useful  species  or  else  cutting  off 
the  entire  growth  and  leaving  nature  to  take  care 
of  the  future. 

When  this  crude  forest  exploitation  and  destruc- 
tive process  has  gone  on  so  long  that  virgin  sup- 
plies are  nearly  exhausted,  that  the  effects  of 
inconsiderate  clearing  or  forest  devastation  be- 
comes visible  in  soil  washes,  in  high  and  low 
water  stages  of  rivers,  more  frequent  and  more 
destructive  floods,  etc.,  then  he  begins  to  consider 
more  carefully  the  relation  which  the  forest  and 
its  continuance  bears  toward  the  further  develop- 
ment of  society,  toward  the  conditions  of  his  sur- 
roundings ;  he  realizes  that  he  may  not  continue 
to  disturb  the  balance  of  nature  unpunished,  nay, 
that  he  must  be  active  in  improving  the  methods 
of  nature,  and  weight  that  side  of  the  balance 
which  is  favorable  to  him  and  his  pursuits ;  he 
begins  to  bring  more  rational  method  into  his  use 
of  the  forest,  he  attempts  to  apply  knowledge  and 
care  in  its  treatment,  he  makes  it  an  object  of  eco- 
nomic thought,  in  other  words  he  arrives  at  a  first 
conception  of  and  applies  forestry,  which  may  be 
most  comprehensively  defined  as  the  ratiofial  treat- 
ment of  forests  for  forest  purposes.  First  he  deter- 
mines upon  a  rational  policy  for  his  further  conduct 
toward  the  forest,  and   then,  having  studied  the 


96       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

manner  in  which  forests  grow,  having  become 
familiar  with  the  science  of  forestry,  he  develops 
superior  positive  methods  in  treatment  and  per- 
petuation of  the  forest  and  applies  the  art  of  for- 
estry ;  and,  adding  the  financial  aspect  in  the 
application  of  the  art,  he  practises  the  business 
of  forestry. 

In  its  broadest  sense  thus  the  term  "forestry,"  ac- 
cording to  the  point  of  view,  represents  a  policy,  a 
science,  an  art,  a  business.  A  policy  is  a  general 
plan  of  behavior,  a  general  line  of  conduct  with 
reference  to  our  affairs,  embodying  the  philosophy, 
the  motives  and  object  of  our  programme.  By  de- 
termining upon  a  policy  with  reference  to  a  resource 
like  the  forest,  we  assign  it  a  place  in  our  political 
or  domestic  economy,  we  make  up  our  mind  as  to 
what  to  do  with  it.  It  is  from  this  point  of  view 
that  this  volume  proposes  to  discuss  the  subject. 

Such  a  policy  we  naturally  base  on  knowledge 
or  science  which  furnishes  us  the  reason  for  our 
policy,  the  why  to  do.  This  science  of  forestry 
comprises  all  the  knowledge  regarding  forest 
growth, — its  component  parts,  the  life  history  of 
the  species,  and  their  behavior  under  varying  condi- 
tions, its  development  and  dependence  upon  natu- 
ral conditions,  its  retroactive  influence  upon  those 
natural  conditions,  in  short  its  place  in  the  economy 
of  nature  and  of  man. 

When  we  come  to  formulate  our  knowledge  into 
rules  of   procedure   and   apply  the   same   to   the 


FOREST   AND    FORESTRY    DEFINED.  97 

treatment  of  forest  areas  specifically,  we  begin  to 
practise  the  art  of  forestry  —  we  learn  hoiv  to  do  ; 
and  finally,  applying  this  art  systematically  for  the 
purpose  for  which  all  technical  arts  are  carried  on, 
namely,  for  money  results,  we  come  to  practise  the 
business  of  forestry. 

Like  agriculture,  forestry  is  concerned  in  the 
use  of  the  soil  for  crop  production ;  as  the  agri- 
culturist is  engaged  in  the  production  of  food-crops, 
so  the  forester  is  engaged  in  the  production  of 
wood-crops,  and  finally  both  are  carrying  on  their 
art  for  the  practical  purpose  of  a  revenue. 

Forest  crop  production  is  the  business  of  the  pro- 
fessional forester. 

K  forester  then  is  not,  as  the  American  public 
has  been  prone  to  apply  the  word,  one  who  knows 
the  names  of  trees  and  flowers,  a  botanist ;  nor 
even  one  who  knows  their  life  history,  a  dendrolo- 
gist ;  nor  one  who,  for  the  love  of  trees,  proclaims 
the  need  of  preserving  them,  a  propagandist ;  nor 
one  who  makes  a  business  of  planting  parks  or 
orchards,  an  arboriculturist,  fruit  grower,  land- 
scape gardener,  or  nurseryman  ;  .nor  one  who  cuts 
down  trees  and  converts  them  into  lumber,  a  wood- 
chopper  or  a  lumberman ;  nor  one  set  to  prevent 
forest  fires  or  depredations  in  woodlands,  a  forest 
guard ;  nor  even  one  who  knows  how  to  produce 
and  reproduce  wood-crops,  a  silviculturist ;  but 
in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  term,  a  forester  is  a 
technically  educated  man  who,  with  the  knowledge 


98  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

of  the  forest  trees  and  their  Ufe  history  and  of  all 
that  pertains  to  their  growth  and  production,  com- 
bines further  knowledge  which  enables  him  to 
manage  a  forest  property  so  as  to  produce  certain 
conditions  resulting  in  the  highest  attainable  rev- 
enue from  the  soil  by  wood-crops. 

The  virgin  forest  grows  where  it  pleases,  and  as 
it  pleases,  without  reference  to  the  needs  of  man. 
It  covers  the  rich  agricultural  soils  as  well  as  the 
dry  and  thin  soils  of  the  mountain  slope  and  top  ;  it 
may  encumber  the  ground  which  can  more  profit- 
ably be  employed  in  the  production  of  food-mate- 
rials, and  it  may  be  absent  where  its  protection 
is  needed  for  human  comfort  or  for  successful 
agriculture. 

Nature  produces  weeds  —  tree  weeds  —  and  use- 
ful species  side  by  side ;  she  does  not  care  for  the 
composition  of  the  crop ;  tree  growth,  whatever  the 
kind,  satisfies  her  laws  of  development ;  nor  has 
she  concern  with  the  form  of  the  component  trees, 
—  they  may  be  branched  and  crooked,  short  and 
tapering.  In  time,  in  a  long  time,  she  too  may 
produce  long  clear  shafts,  but  by  her  methods 
such  results  will  only  be  accomplished  in  cen- 
turies ;  nature  takes  no  account  of  time  or  space, 
both  of  which  are  lavishly  at  her  command.  The 
area  of  virgin  forest  which  we  harvest  to-day  has 
produced  a  tithe  of  the  useful  material  which  it  is 
capable  of  producing,  and  has  taken  two  to  three- 
fold the   time  which  it  would  take   under  skilful 


FOREST   AND    FORESTRY   DEFINED.  99 

direction  to  secure  better  results,  quantitatively 
and  qualitatively. 

It  is  in  the  application  of  the  economic  point 
of  view,  in  relegating  forest  growth  to  non-agri- 
cultural soils,  in  influencing  its  composition  and 
its  development  toward  usefulness,  in  securing  its 
reproduction  in  a  manner  more  satisfactory  to 
human  wants  and  human  calculations,  than  na- 
ture's fitful  performances  promise,  that  the  for- 
ester's forest  differs. 

Forestry  in  more  or  less  developed  form  is 
begun  when  this  economic  point  of  view  is  ap- 
plied, when  care,  however  slight,  is  bestowed 
upon  the  virgin  wood  to  secure  its  improvement 
and  continuance. 

Before  the  finer  methods  of  forest  management 
become  practicable  under  such  economic  condi- 
tions as  surround  us,  a  common-sense  manage- 
ment may  be  possible,  which  consists  in  more 
careful  utilization  of  the  natural  forest,  protecting 
it  against  fire,  fostering  young  volunteer  growth 
of  the  better  kinds,  by  keeping  out  cattle,  and  in 
general  avoiding  whatever  prevents  a  satisfactory 
reproduction  of  the  natural  woods.  For  large 
sections  of  this  country,  this  will  for  some  time 
to  come  be  the  only  forestry  that  is  practicable, 
namely,  wherever  distance  from  market  for  infe- 
rior material  makes  finer  methods  unprofitable  or 
impracticable. 

Finally,  however,  the  art  in  its  fullest  and  finest 


lOO  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

development  will  become  applicable  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  our  country,  just  as  in  the 
old  countries. 

As  in  every  productive  industry,  so  in  the  fores- 
try industry  we  can  distinguish  two  separate  yet 
necessarily  always  closely  interdependent  branches, 
namely,  the  technical  art  which  concerns  itself 
with  the  production  of  the  material,  and  the  busi- 
ness art  which  concerns  itself  with  the  orderly, 
organized  conduct  of  the  industry  of  production. 

Since  the  materials  and  forces  of  nature  are  the 
source  of  the  mighty  processes  of  organic  life 
which  find  expression  in  forest  growth,  the  art  of 
forest  crop  production  naturally  relies  mainly  upon 
a  knowledge  of  natural  sciences,  by  which  the 
forester  may  be  enabled  to  direct  and  influence 
nature's  forces  into  more  useful  production,  than 
its  unguided  activity  would  secure. 

The  nature  of  the  plant  material,  its  biology,  its 
relation  to  climate  and  soil,  must  be  known  to 
secure  the  largest,  most  useful,  and  most  valuable 
crop  ;  that  portion  of  botany  which  may  be  segre- 
gated as  dendrology — the  botany  of  trees  in  all 
its  ramifications  —  must  form  the  main  basis  of  the 
forester's  art.  To  study  such  a  segregated  portion  of 
the  large  field  of  botanical  science  presupposes,  to  be 
sure,  a  sufficient  amount  of  general  botanical  knowl- 
edge. In  order  to  know,  recognize,  and  classify  his 
materials  the  methods  of  classification,  the  general 
anatomy  and  histology,  must  be  famiUar  to  him, 


FOREST   AND   FORESTRY   DEFINED.       lOT. 

as  well  as  general  physiology  and  biology ;  finally, 
he  must  specialize  and  become  an'  etperf '(u;  t)iV 
logical  dendrology,  i.e.  a  knowledge  of  the  life 
history,  the  development,  and  dependence  upon 
surroundings,  the  ecology,  of  trees,  in  individuals 
as  well  as  in  communities,  —  a  very  special  study, 
to  which  few  botanists  have  as  yet  given  much 
attention.  Forest  crop  production,  or  silviculture, 
in  its  widest  sense,  may  be  called  applied  dendrol- 
ogy. And  the  forester  is  not  satisfied  only  to  know 
the  general  features  of  the  biology  of  the  species, 
their  development  from  seed  to  maturity,  their 
requirements  regarding  soil  and  light  conditions, 
but  as  he  is  a  producer  of  material  for  revenue,  he 
is  most  emphatically  interested  in  the  amount  of 
production  and  the  rate  at  which  this  production 
takes  place.  Far  different  from  the  agriculturist's 
crop,  his  is  not  an  annual  one,  but  requires  many 
years  of  accumulations,  and  as  each  year's  waiting 
increases  the  cost  of  production  by  tying  up  the 
capital  invested,  it  is  of  importance  not  only  to 
know  the  Hkely  progress  of  the  crop,  the  mathe- 
matics of  accretion,  but  also  ho"-^  its  progress  may 
be  influenced. 

In  this  connection  the  study  of  geology  and 
meteorology,  of  soil  and  climate,  the  factors  of  site, 
is  required,  as  far  as  necessary  to  understand  the 
relationship  of  plant  life  to  surroundings,  and 
teach  the  chemico-physical  basis  for  wood  produc- 
tion.    The  protection  of  his  crop  not  only  against 


I02  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

climatic  ills,  but  against  enemies  of  the  animal  and 
plant  world,  requires  studies  in  that  direction,  and 
finally  to  harvest  his  crop  and  bring  it  to  market  and 
dispose  of  it  to  best  advantage  calls  for  engineering 
knowledge  and  acquaintance  with  wood  technology. 

The  business  side  of  the  forestry  industry,  which 
we  call  forest  economy,  relies  mainly  upon  mathe- 
matical calculations  and  the  application  of  princi- 
ples of  political  economy.  The  fact  that  the  time 
from  the  start  of  the  crop  to  the  harvest  may  be 
fifty,  one  hundred,  or  more  years  —  the  time  it 
takes  to  grow  a  useful  size  of  timber  —  necessitates 
a  more  thoroughly  premeditated  and  organized 
conduct,  more  complicated  profit  calculations,  more 
careful  plans,  than  in  any  other  business  which 
deals  with  shorter  time  periods. 

In  this  connection  one  of  the  first  and  most  im- 
portant mathematical  problems  for  the  forester  to 
settle,  is  when  his  crop  is  ripe.  This  is  not  as 
with  agricultural  crops  and  fruits  determined  by 
a  natural  period,  but  by  the  judgment  of  the  har- 
vester, based  upon  mathematical  and  financial 
calculations. 

There  are  various  principles  which  may  be  fol- 
lowed in  determining  the  maturity  of  a  stand,  or 
what  is  technically  called  the  rotation,  i.e.  the  time 
within  which  a  forest,  managed  as  a  unit,  shall  be 
cut  over  and  reproduced ;  but  all  rely  finally  upon 
measurements  of  the  quantity  of  production  as 
basis  of  the  business  calculation,  and  hence  forest        i 


FOREST   AND    FORESTRY    DEFINED. 


103 


mensuration  has  been  developed  into  a  special 
branch  of  mathematics  and  many  methods  have 
been  developed,  by  which  not  only  the  volume 
and  rate  of  growth  of  single  trees,  but  of  whole 
stands,  can  be  more  or  less  accurately  determined. 
Similarly,  finance  calculations  have  been  more 
fully  developed  in  the  forestry  business  than  are 
usually  practised  in  any  other  business  excepting 
perhaps  Life  Insurance. 

Without  going  into  further  details  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  science  of  forestry,  reserving  for  two 
chapters  a  fuller  discussion  of  the  two  main 
branches,  a  comprehensive  view  may  be  gained 
by  the  following  systematic  statement  of  the  vari- 
ous branches  into  which  forestry  may  be  divided. 

SYSTEM   OF   FORESTRY   KNOWLEDGE. 


I.    Forestry  Statistics. 

Areas  :  forest  conditions  —  distribution  — 

composition. 
Products  :  trade  —  supply  and  demand  — 

C/5 

prices  —  substitutes. 

H 

-£2  ^ 

00 

c/5 

2.   Forestry  Economics. 

c 

g,.2 

Study  of  relation  of  forests  to   climate, 

(2 

<  ^ 

soil,  water,  health,  ethics,  etc. 

(4 

ih' 

Study   of  commercial    peculiarities,   and 

§  ^ 

position  of  forests  and  forestry  in  po- 

(2 

litical  economy. 

^ 

Q 

3.   History  of  Forestry. 

H 

4.   Forestry  Policy. 

Formulating    rights    and    duties    of    the 

t 

state,   forestry   legislation,   state   forest 

administration,  education. 

I04 


ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 


^     Zi     o 

^  ^  ^ 


Forest  Botany. 

Dendrology,  systematic  and  biologic  — 
forest  geography  —  forest  weeds. 

Factors  of  Site. 

Soil  physics,  soil  chemistr)',  meteorology 
and  climatology  with  reference  to  forest 
growth. 

Timber  Physics. 

Structure,  physical  and  chemical  proper- 
ties of  wood,  influences  determining 
same,  diseases  and  faults. 

Wood  Technology. 

Application  of  wood  in  the  arts  —  require- 
ments —  working  properties  —  use  of 
minor  and  by-products. 

Silviculture. 

Methods  of  producing  the  crop  and  influ- 
encing its  progress. 

Forest  Protection. 

Forest  entomology  —  climatic  injuries  — 
fire,  etc. 

Forest  Utilization. 

Methods  of  harvesting,  transporting,  pre- 
paring for  market. 

Forest  Engineering. 

Road  building  —  water  regulation  —  treat- 
ment of  special  cases,  sand  dunes,  bar- 
ren swamps,  moors,  denuded  slopes. 


FOREST   AND    FORESTRY    DEFINED. 


105 


13.  Forest  Survey. 

Area  and  boundary  —  topography  —  as- 
certaining forest  condition  —  establish- 
ing units  of  management  and  adminis- 
tration. 

14.  Forest  Mensuration. 

Methods  of  ascertaining  volumes  and 
rates  of  growth  of  trees  and  stands, 
and  determining  yields. 

15.  Forest  Valuation,  Statics,  and  Finance. 
Ascertaining  money  value  of  forest  prop- 
erties and  financial  results  of  different 
methods  of  management,  and  compar- 
ing same. 

16.  Forest  Regulation. 

Preparing  working  plans,  determining 
felling  budgets,  and  organizing  for  con- 
tinuous wood  and  revenue  production. 

17.  Forest  Administration. 
Organization  of  a  forestry  service :  busi- 
ness practice  and  routine,  including  for- 
est law  and  business  law  applicable  to 
forestry  practice. 


Besides  these  essential  and  directly  applicable  branches  of 
knowledge,  it  is  desirable  that  the  manager  of  a  large  forest 
property  have  also  some  knowledge  of  fish  and  game  preser- 
vation, and  of  agriculture,  if  game,  fish,  meadows,  agricultural 
lands,  form  integral  parts  of  the  property. 


CHAPTER  V. 

FACTORS    OF   FOREST    PRODUCTION    AND    BUSINESS 
ASPECTS. 

Forestry,  as  we  have  seen,  is,  like  agriculture, 
concerned  in  producing  continuously  crops  or 
equivalent  money  values  from  the  use  of  the  soil ; 
yet  forestry  differs  from  agriculture,  not  only  in 
the  kind  of  crop,  but  it  differs  totally  in  the  man- 
ner of  producing  the  crop  and  in  the  use  and  com- 
bination of  all  the  factors  of  production. 

This  difference  is  mainly  brought  about  by  that 
element  in  production  by  which  forest  production 
differs  from  all  other  productive  industries,  namely, 
the  time  element. 

Agricultural  crops  are  usually  ready  for  harvest 
the  same  year  they  are  planted,  or  at  least  in  a 
year  or  two ;  orchard-crops  require  a  few  years  to 
establish  the  basis  for  an  annual  or  biennial  return 
of  crops ;  but  a  wood-crop  does  not  become  useful 
until  many  years'  growth  has  been  accumulated. 

Every   year  a  new   layer   of  wood    is    laid   on, 

over   the    layers    that   have    been  formed  before, 

cornucopia-like,    increasing    the    wood    plant    in 

height    and    circumference    and    consequently    in 

106 


FACTORS  OF  FOREST  PRODUCTION. 


107 


volume.  The  crop  is  ready  for  harvest  when  a 
sufficient  number  of  annual  growths  is  accumu- 
lated to  make  wood  of  useful  size.  This  differs 
according  to  the  use  to  which  the  material  is  to  be 
put. 

A  five  to  ten  years'  growth  of  some  kinds  might 
suffice  for  hop  and  bean  poles,  for  barrel  hoops, 
canes,  and  the  Hke ;  at  fifteen  to  twenty  years  the 
crop  might  furnish  in  addition  some  fence  posts  and 
poles  as  well  as  firewood,  especially  if  grown  from 
coppice.  At  fifty  years  some  of  the  trees  may 
have  in  part  accumulated  sufficient  size  to  furnish 
bolts  for  the  manufacture  of  carriage  stock,  hubs, 
and  spokes,  or  small  cooperage  and  other  articles 
of  small  dimension,  or  even  railroad  ties  and  tele- 
graph poles.  But  with  most  species  which  are 
used  to  supply  the  large  demands  of  the  lumber 
market,  sizes  fit  for  the  sawmill  are  in  the  temper- 
ate zones  attained  hardly  in  less  than  75  to  100 
years  ;  while  most  of  the  trees  that  are  now  cut 
for  that  purpose  nature  has  taken  150  to  200  years 
and  up  to  500  years  or  more  to  produce. 

In  addition  to  size,  quality,  too,  is  a  function  of 
age,  improving  as  a  rule  with  increase  in  size.  To 
produce  a  sawlog  which  will  furnish  a  sufficiently 
large  amount  of  clear  boards  free  from  knots,  many 
years  must  have  elapsed  to  cover  with  annual 
layers  the  stumps  of  branchlets  of  the  younger 
tree,  which  by  the  shading  of  neighbors  were 
killed  and  broken  off  by  winds  or  otherwise. 


I08  ECONOMICS   OF  FORESTRY. 

Moreover,  the  wood  of  many  species  undergoes 
a  chemical  change  as  yet  unexplained,  but  supposed 
to  improve  its  quality,  or,  as  in  the  black  walnut, 
its  usefulness,  —  the  change  into  heart-wood,  which 
begins  earlier  or  later  with  different  species  and 
progresses  more  or  less  slowly,  so  that,  while  the 
useful  size  and  form  may  have  been  attained,  the 
useful  quality  may  still  have  to  be  waited  for. 

As  the  tree  develops,  it  exhibits  in  all  its  parts 
the  various  sizes  and  qualities  of  all  its  stages  of 
development,  but  in  varying  relative  proportion, 
and  as  the  log  timber  of  the  bole  begins  to  pre- 
ponderate over  the  branch  and  brushwood  of  the 
crown,  naturally  the  value  production  increases,  and 
influences  the  financial  result  of  the  production. 

Now,  the  accumulation  of  annual  layers  of  wood 
does  not  proceed  by  any  means  in  a  regular,  even 
rate  of  equal  proportions  for  each  year.  Not  only 
is  this  rate  of  accretion  varying  with  every  species, 
and  with  every  difference  in  soil  and  climate  and 
other  surrounding  conditions,  and  with  the  seasons, 
but  it  differs  in  the  different  life  periods  of  the 
tree. 

The  soft,  light-wooded  trees,  like  the  cottonwood, 
aspen,  silver  maple,  willow,  and  others,  start  out  with 
a  rapid  growth,  making  good-sized  trees  in  thirty 
to  forty  years,  then  rapidly  decline  in  the  rate  of 
growth,  and  soon  cease  almost  entirely,  being  com- 
paratively short-lived.  Others,  like  many  of  our 
important   hardwoods   and   useful   conifers,   grow 


FACTORS    OF   FOREST   PRODUCTION.       109 

slowly  in  their  youth,  then  increase  in  their  rate, 
continuing  for  a  long  time  in  an  even,  rapid  devel- 
opment, then  persisting  at  a  slower  but  uniform 
rate  to  an  old  age. 

If  we  were  to  utilize  these  latter  as  soon  as  they 
reach  useful  size  and  then  renew  the  crop,  we  would 
again  and  again  repeat  the  period  of  slow  growth, 
and  hence  lose  in  relative  quantity  of  production. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  allowed  the  soft  woods 
mentioned  to  grow  beyond  the  stage  of  rapid 
growth,  we  would  lose  equally  at  the  other  end. 
The  study  of  rates  of  growth  of  species  and  of 
quantitative  production  of  stands  of  different 
species,  the  mathematics  of  forest  growth,  the 
results  of  forest  mensuration,  is  so  important  a 
matter  that  we  devote  to  it  a  special  chapter. 

Here  we  only  wish  to  point  out  that,  among  the 
factors  of  production,  time  plays  a  much  greater 
role  than  in  any  other  business,  and  in  fact  influ- 
ences the  use  of  all  other  factors  of  production  and 
methods  of  procedure  to  such  an  extent,  that,  if 
forestry  be  carried  on  as  a  business  by  itself,  its 
conduct  becomes  in  many  respects  sui  generis. 

The  time  when  the  crop  is  ready  for  the  harvest, 
it  will  be  apparent  from  the  above  considerations, 
is  not  a  matter  of  natural  period  as  in  the  ripening 
of  fruits,  but  depends  not  only  upon  many  com- 
plex considerations,  varying  with  species  and  soil 
and  climate,  but  upon  market  conditions,  econom- 
ical considerations,  and  industrial  requirements,  and 


no  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY. 

is  determined  by  the  judgment  of  the  harvester, 
it  is  a  matter  of  choice  influenced  by  technical, 
financial,  and  national  economic  points  of  view. 

The  time  which  elapses  between  the  first  estab- 
lishment of  the  crop  and  the  harvest  is  technically 
called  rotation  or  revolution  or  turnus,  involving 
the  idea  of  return  to  the  same  area  for  harvest, 
again  and  again;  its  determination  is  one  of  the 
most  important  problems  for  the  business  man- 
ager, and  will  find  consideration  in  a  later  chapter. 

Besides  the  time  element,  there  are,  as  in  every 
producing  business,  three  factors  of  production  to 
be  considered,  which  in  varying  combinations  pro- 
duce the  result,  the  creation  of  values  —  namely, 
nature,  labor,  and  capital. 

The  relative  significance  of  each  of  these  pro- 
ductive forces,  as  is  well  known,  varies  in  every 
industry,  and  also  to  a  degree  with  the  intensity  of 
their  management.  Forestry  being  the  twin  sister 
of  agriculture,  both  attempting  to  produce  values 
from  the  soil,  it  is  natural  to  compare  these  two 
industries  with  reference  to  the  part  which  each  of 
the  factors  of  production  takes  in  it.  It  is  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,  to  compare  these  industries  with- 
out assuming  as  a  basis  a  more  or  less  equal 
development  and  degree  of  intensity.  In  our 
country,  forestry  as  a  business  does  not  exist  as 
yet,  except  in  small  beginnings  here  and  there  and 
without  intensity,  while  agriculture,  also,  is  as  yet 
relatively  poorly  developed  as  an  industry  upon  a 


FACTORS   OF   FOREST  PRODUCTION.       m 

scientific  basis.  Forest  exploitation,  the  mere  rob- 
bing of  the  natural  forest  resources,  and  extensive 
farming,  agricultural  rapine,  the  robbing  of  soils 
of  their  native  fertility,  are  as  yet  mainly  prac- 
tised. 

In  trying  to  find  economic  differences  in  princi- 
ple between  the  two  industries,  we  must,  therefore, 
for  illustrations,  largely  rely  upon  countries  where 
both  the  forestry  and  the  farming  industry  are  fully 
developed  side  by  side,  and  have  reached  a  high  de- 
gree of  intensity,  as  in  Europe.  In  comparing  the 
two  industries  under  such  conditions,  we  will  find 
that  they  differ  widely  in  the  relative  significance 
and  importance  which  the  three  factors  of  produc- 
tion assume.  For  while  in  agriculture  the  factor 
of  labor  is  most  important,  nature  second,  and 
capital  last,  in  the  forestry  business,  in  general,  the 
reliance  on  nature  is  greatest,  on  capital  next, 
while  labor  plays  a  less  important  part. 

The  fact  that  nature  unassisted  has  produced 
the  virgin  woods,  which  furnish  us  satisfactory 
materials,  while  agricultural  production  is  almost 
entirely  dependent  on  human  effort,  will  at  once 
settle  the  relative  importance  of  these  two  factors. 
Even  when  the  mere  exploitation  of  natural  woods 
is  supplanted  by  the  systematic  apphcation  of 
skill  and  labor  in  reproducing  wood  crops,  the  ele- 
ment of  labor  remains  less  important,  for  during 
the  long  period  from  seed  to  harvest  time  the  for- 
ester can  do  but  little  to  influence  the  progress  of  his 


112  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

crop,  and  must  allow  nature  and  time  to  mature 
it;  while  the  farmer  is  constantly  busy  during 
the  progress  of  his  annual  crop,  cultivating  it  to 
secure  best  results ;  annually,  ploughing  and  sow- 
ing recur ;  or,  if  he  apply  himself  to  pasturing,  his 
attendance  upon  the  cattle  is  incessant,  his  busi- 
ness is  "labor-intensive."  The  forester's  crop 
grows  mostly  unattended  ;  only  when  harvest  time 
comes  is  he  busy ;  and  since,  as  we  will  see  farther 
on,  he  may  reproduce  his  crop  without  direct  labor 
by  the  mere  manner  of  harvesting  the  old  crop, 
even  seeding  time  may  not  call  for  much  effort; 
his  business  is  "  labor-extensive."  And  since  most 
of  his  work  comes  during  the  late  fall  and  winter, 
and  ceases  during  the  growing  season,  he  cannot 
offer  continuous  employment  for  many  workmen, 
and  must  rely  largely  upon  an  unstable  crew,  as 
does  the  lumberman.  On  the  other  hand,  much 
of  his  work,  although  dependent  on  the  season, 
is  not  hmited  so  closely  as  regards  the  time  of  its 
performance  as  is  the  farmer's,  and  it  is  possible 
to  concentrate  or  lengthen  out  the  work  more  or 
less,  as  desirable.  The  fact  that  most  of  the  forest 
work  falls  into  the  winter  time,  when  farm  labor  is 
idle,  is  of  the  utmost  economic  value  where  a  dense, 
poor  population  must  find  continuous  employment 
through  the  year. 

If  we  compare  these  conditions  in  a  country 
where  both  agriculture  and  forestry  are  most  highly 
developed,  as  in  Germany,  we  will  find  that  agricul- 


FACTORS    OF    FOREST   PRODUCTION.       113 

ture  occupies  for  the  same  acreage  from  10  to  20 
to  even  30  times  as  much  labor  according  to  inten- 
sity of  management,  as  forestry,^  namely,  1 5  to  50 
laborers  continuously  employed  on  250  acres  of 
farm  as  against  i  to  3,  or  in  the  average  2  laborers 
on  the  same  acreage  of  forest.  The  35,000,000 
acres  of  German  forest  afford  only  ;^i  per  acre  in 
labor  earnings,  while,  to  be  sure,  they  also  give  rise 
to  a  labor  earning  of  over  $3  per  acre  in  wood- 
working industries. 

In  other  directions,  too,  does  the  labor  question 
differ  in  the  forest.  While  in  agriculture  intensive 
application  of  labor  produces  equivalent  improve- 
ment in  results,  such  improvement  can  in  forestry 
rarely  and  only  to  a  limited  degree  be  secured  by  in- 
creased labor.  Not  only  is  most  labor  in  the  forest 
technically  simple,  very  little  skill  being  needed 
and  very  little  variety  offered,  but  it  permits  piece- 
work to  a  much  larger  extent  than  is  practicable 
on  the  farm,  while  opportunity  for  the  use  of  ma- 
chinery is  very  limited,  or  at  least  as  yet  little 
developed.  Nor  does  it  permit  much  division, 
organization,  specialization,  such  as  is  practised  in 
manufacturing  establishments. 

The  greater  intensity  with  which  agriculture  can 

1  The  Prussian  state  forest  administration  of  nearly  7,000,000 
acres  employs  one  official  for  every  1465  acres,  namely,  i  guard 
(Forster  u.  Waldwiirter)  for  every  1800  acres,  i  manager  (Oberfors- 
ter)  for  every  9800,  and  I  inspector  (Oberforstmeister  u.  Forstrath) 
for  every  61000  acres;  and  the  common  labor  represents  the  annual 
employment  of  one  man  for  every  1 75  acres. 


114  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

be  profitably  practised  also  makes  a  difference  in 
the  amount  of  superintendence  which  it  necessi- 
tates. While  an  intensively  managed  farm  of  250 
acres  would  occupy  a  superintendent  fully,  a  hun- 
dred times  such  acreage  in  forest  may  be  placed 
under  one  manager  to  execute  the  working  plans  if, 
according  to  location  and  conditions,  he  is  assisted 
by  a  number  of  guards. 

The  protection  of  the  property,  indeed,  requires 
under  circumstances  the  comparatively  largest  at- 
tention. In  German  forest  administrations,  one 
guard  is  employed  for  every  500  to  2000  acres, 
exercising  mainly  police  functions,  which  the  dense 
indigent  population,  prone  to  stealing  and  trespass 
of  various  kinds,  necessitates. 

In  India, ^  with  a  forest  area  under  more  or  less 
intensive  management  of  75,000,000  acres,  of  which 
about  two-thirds  are  reserved,  the  rest  only  pro- 
tected—  after  various  reorganizations  since  1864 
when  the  first  administration  was  organized,  —  the 
controlling  staff  consists  of  i  inspector  general, 
19  conservators,  117  deputy  conservators,  63 
assistant  conservators,  and  112  provincial  con- 
servators, or  all  together  312  officers,  double  the 
number  employed  in  1885  ;  the  executive  and  pro- 
tective service  is  satisfied  with  1663  rangers  and 
foresters  and  8533    guards;    all   together    10,508 

1  These  figures  refer  to  conditions  in  the  year  1900,  and  are  taken 
from  the  excellent  book,  "  Forestry  in  India,"  by  B.  Ribbentrop, 
Inspector  General. 


FACTORS   OF   FOREST   PRODUCTION.       115 

permanent  employees,  or  one  to  a  little  less  than 
7500  acres,  are  at  present  required. 

The  gross  income  of  this  largest  forestry  estab- 
lishment in  the  world,  constantly  growing,  was  in 
1892  to  1897  only  about  ;^8, 000,000,  while  the  ex- 
penditures represented  55  per  cent  of  the  gross 
revenue,  of  which  over  ^2,000,000  was  paid  for 
the  permanent  service. 

With  us,  where  for  the  present  less  intensive 
management  must  form  the  rule,  and  where  in 
some  respects  properties  are  less  endangered,  the 
size  of  a  superintendent's  and  a  guard's  district 
may  be  four  times  as  large  and  more. 

While  the  conduct  of  the  business  requires  a 
small  amount  of  labor,  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  the 
business  that  the  formulation  of  working  plans  to 
be  followed  by  the  manager  requires  not  only  much 
more  careful  consideration,  and  also  involves  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  skilled  labor  in  securing  the 
data,  while  their  circumspect  use  requires  a  good 
deal  more  judgment  than  would  be  needed  in  a 
business  which  can  change  its  modus  operandi 
readily  every  year. 

It  will  have  appeared  from  this  discussion  of  the 
relation  of  labor  to  the  industry,  that  the  size  of 
the  area  upon  which  forestry  is  to  be  practised  not 
only  may,  but  mjist,  be  of  considerable  acreage  if 
it  is  to  be  carried  on  profitably  as  a  business  by 
itself,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  occupy  the 
manager  fully  and  to  leave  enough  margin  for  the 


Il6  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

owner.  While  the  small  farm,  owing  to  the  possi- 
bility of  increasing  returns  to  increased  labor,  and 
hence  a  relatively  large  return  per  acre,  can  exist,  — 
the  small  farm  earning  per  acre  as  much  as  the 
large  one,  or  more,  —  the  small  wood-lot  cannot  exist 
as  a  separate  business  proposition ;  only  as  attached 
to  a  farm  or  other  business  can  it  have  economic 
justification,  but,  as  we  will  see  later,  it  is  even  then 
at  a  disadvantage  from  mere  silvicultural  points  of 
view. 

The  indirect  employment  of  labor  to  which  for- 
est products  give  rise  in  transportation  and  final 
shaping  and  use  of  the  wood  material  is  probably 
greater  than  with  farm  crops. 

We  referred  just  now  to  the  amount  of  labor 
earnings  of  $3  which  each  acre  of  forest  pro- 
duces in  woodworking  establishments  in  Prussia. 
In  our  own  country  the  forest  products  annually 
consumed  involve  the  moving  over  shorter  or 
longer  distances  of  not  less  than  500,000,000  tons, 
or,  if  we  only  refer  to  the  lumber  product,  at  least 
100,000,000  tons  must  be  handled  to  and  from  the 
mill  and  yard,  which,  if  the  average  haul  were  not 
over  100  miles,  may  readily  involve  a  cost  of 
$150,000,000  to  $200,000,000,  while  $300,000,000 
is  about  the  amount  of  wages  paid  to  the  500,000 
employees  occupied  in  transforming  the  raw  forest 
product  into  articles  of  trade,  and  $100,000,000 
to  the  loggers  and  mill  men.  With  these  and 
other  figures  (see  Appendix)  we  come  to  an  esti- 


FACTORS   OF   FOREST   PRODUCTION.       117 

mate  which  brings  the  labor  earnings  for  our  500,- 
000,000  acres  of  forest,  that  are  being  exploited  but 
not  managed,  to  not  less  than  ^600,000,000,  or  per- 
haps one  laborer  for  each  250  acres,  as  a  lowest  fig- 
ure. The  360,000,000  acres  of  improved  farm  land 
reported  in  the  census  of  1890  occupied  only  one 
man  for  every  43  acres  and  the  total  crop  translated 
into  weight  remains  considerably  below  200,000,000 
tons,  including  meat,  milk,  butter,  cheese,  etc.  It 
is  well-nigh  impossible  to  get  even  approxima- 
tions to  the  number  of  laborers  employed  in  con- 
version of  these  foodstuffs,  but  the  likelihood  is 
that  all  together  not  more  labor  earnings  can  be 
credited  to  one  acre  of  farm  land  than  to  the  acre 
of  forest  land.  This  disparity  is  probably  explained 
by  the  lack  of  intensity  in  farming,  and  the  proba- 
bility that  much  of  the  farm  land  does  not  really 
participate  in  the  crop,  lying  idle. 

If  there  exists,  then,  great  difference  regarding 
the  amount  and  character  of  the  labor  element  in 
agricultural  and  forest  production,  the  use  of  the 
element  of  nature  shows  no  less  difference  in  the 
two  industries. 

Not  only  is  the  element  of  nature  relatively 
much  more  prominent  in  forest  production,  but  the 
single  factors,  soil  and  climate,  have  different  sig- 
nificance. For  a  crop  which  must  withstand  the 
rigors  of  winter  and  the  variable  conditions  of  all 
seasons,  not  for  one,  but  for  many  years,  and  which 
by  its  character  forbids  the  expedients  of  cultiva- 


Il8  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

tion  on  which  the  farmer  relies,  special  considera- 
tions regarding  the  relation  of  crop  to  climate  occur. 
While  most  of  our  farm  crops  come  originally  from 
climates  very  different  from  those  in  which  they 
are  now  grown,  the  possibility  of  extending  forest 
crops  beyond  their  native  limits  is  very  much  more 
circumscribed,  and  even  with  native  species  the 
climatic  influences  of  frost,  drought,  winds,  require 
the  adaptation  of  the  crop  to  the  site,  and  after- 
treatment  different  from  farm  crops.  On  the  other 
hand,  where,  as  in  the  high  altitudes  and  northern 
latitudes,  agriculture  finds  its  climatic  hmits,  forest 
cropping  is  still  possible ;  again,  good  farm  crops 
may  be  raised  in  the  semi-arid  regions,  where  forest 
crops,  while  possible  to  establish,  must  by  necessity 
be  of  only  inferior  value.  Agriculture  deals  almost 
entirely  with  vegetable  products,  which,  to  be  sure, 
originated  with  nature,  but  have  been  improved  by 
man  for  human  use ;  its  products  are,  if  we  may  be 
permitted  to  exaggerate,  unnatural,  artificial  ones, 
and  the  possibility  of  varying  their  character  and 
adapting  them  to  climatic  conditions  seems  almost 
unlimited. 

Wood-crops,  on  the  other  hand,  are  still,  even 
under  the  forester's  hand,  as  nature  unaided  can 
and  does  produce  them  ;  the  possibility  of  influenc- 
ing their  character  is  exceedingly  limited  :  under 
the  skilful  guidance  of  the  forester,  to  be  sure,  the 
manner  in  which  the  wood  is  deposited  on  boles 
and  branches,  the  development  of  clear  long  shafts 


FACTORS   OF   FOREST   PRODUCTION.       119 

in  preference  to  low-crowned  and  branched  trees, 
and  to  a  slight  extent  the  structure  of  the  annual 
ring,  can  be  directed;  but  so  far  the  wood  of  nature's 
production  and  that  of  man's  are  very  nearly  if  not 
quite  the  same,  and  forms  which  are  better  adapted 
to  chmatic  or  soil  conditions  have  not  been  bred  by 
man.  The  short  cycle  of  development  in  agricultural 
crops  and  the  long  cycle  in  forest  crops  explain  this 
difference.  The  forester  can  improve  upon  nature 
mainly  by  making  it  produce  a  larger  quantity  of  ma- 
terial of  useful  form  and  of  useful  species  per  acre. 

But  the  greatest  and  radical  difference  between 
the  two  industries,  one  of  the  highest  national 
economic  importance,  is  the  difference  in  the  use 
of  the  soil. 

Agriculture  is  engaged  in  producing  starch  and 
sugar,  proteids  and  albuminoids,  in  short,  the  com- 
pounds which  are  directly  food  materials ;  and  this 
production  relies  largely  on  the  fertility,  the  min- 
erals of  the  soil,  especially  the  rarer  phosphorus, 
sulphur,  potash,  nitrogen.  With  the  harvest  all 
these  are  removed  from  the  soil,  and  must  be 
replaced  by  manures  or  through  rotation  of  crops, 
or  else  the  soil  is  sooner  or  later  exhausted  and 
becomes  infertile. 

Forestry  is  engaged  mainly  in  the  production  of 
cellulose  and  its  derivatives,  carbohydrates,^  which 
contain  a  minimum  of  these  rarer  elements. 

^  T'ne  composition  of  wood  is  approximately  50  per  cent  C,  6  per 
cent  H,  42  per  cent  O,  i  per  cent  N,  i  per  cent  mineral  ash. 


I20  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

The  air  furnishes  one-half  the  constituents, 
namely,  the  carbon,  which  the  chlorophyll  cells 
of  the  leaves  assimilate  under  the  influence  of 
the  sunlight,  and  almost  the  entire  other  half  is 
furnished  by  the  water  of  the  soil.  Not  that  tree 
life  and  wood  production  can  entirely  dispense 
with  the  presence  of  these  minerals,  but  it  requires 
them  in  smallest  amounts,  and  the  final  product, 
which  the  forester  harvests,  is  practically  devoid 
of  them.  Moreover,  those  parts  of  the  tree  which 
in  its  life  processes  accumulate  the  largest  amounts 
of  these  elements,  namely,  the  foliage  and  small 
branchlets,  do  not  usually  form  part  of  this  har- 
vest, but  are  returned  to  the  soil,  so  that,  in  fact, 
not  only  does  the  soil  not  lose  any  of  its  fertility, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  enriched  at  its  surface 
by  the  decay  of  the  litter,  not  only  through  the 
vegetable  humus  and  the  nitrogen-condensing  bac- 
teria formed  in  the  same'(see  Appendix),  but  through 
mineral  constituents  in  soluble  form,  which  the  tree 
has  brought  up  from  greater  depths.  Hence  the 
well-known  fertility  of  virgin  woodland  soil ;  while 
agriculture  exhausts  soils,  forestry  enriches  them.^ 
From  the  soil  the  forest  crop  derives  mainly  the 

1  A  field  of  potatoes,  for  instance,  uses  of  phosphoric  acid  three 
times  as  much  as  a  beech  forest,  five  times  as  much  as  a  spruce 
forest,  and  nine  times  as  much  as  a  pine  forest,  and  of  potash  nine, 
thirteen,  and  seventeen  times  as  much  as  the  three  tree  species 
respectively,  while  of  nitrogen  w^ood  requires  lo  to  13  pounds  per 
acre  as  against  60  to  90  pounds  in  potatoes,  the  conifers  generally 
requiring  less  than  the  deciduous-leaved  trees. 


FACTORS  OF  FOREST  PRODUCTION.   121 

water  which  is  required  for  the  biological  processes, 
including  the  transpiration  of  the  leaves,  and  for 
the  composition  of  the  wood,  adding  the  hygro- 
scopic water  which  is  finally  lost  when  the  wood 
seasons.  Chemically  water  forms  48  per  cent  of 
the  wood  substance,  while  40  to  60  per  cent  more 
is  hygroscopically  bound  to  it  in  the  living  tree, 
and  8  to  12  per  cent  remains  so  in  the  wood  after 
seasoning ;  the  whole  forest  area,  therefore,  pro- 
duces only  40  per  cent  of  dry  substance  to  60  per 
cent  of  water,  so  that  the  8000  pounds  annual 
product  on  a  fully  stocked  acre  divides  itself  up 
into  3000  pounds  dry  substance,  1250  pounds 
chemically  bound,  and  3750  hygroscopic,  water. 
These  are  small  quantities  of  water,  but  the  tran- 
spiration current  requires  many  times  more.  Fig- 
ures on  this  point  are  difficult  to  establish,  as  the 
variations,  by  species  not  only,  but  from  day  to  day, 
in  different  seasons,  are  extremely  great.  An  acre 
of  beech  may  some  days  transpire  not  more  than 
5000  pounds,  other  days  four  times  that  amount, 
while  agricultural  crops  seem  to  need  from  50  to 
100  per  cent  more.  The  interesting  and  impor- 
tant point  is  that  coniferous  trees,  especially  pines, 
require  from  one-sixth  to  one-tenth  of  what  decidu- 
ous-leaved trees  transpire,  which  makes  them  espe- 
cially valuable  for  dry  soils  and  climates.  The 
silviculturist  draws  from  these  facts,  regarding  the 
frugality  of  forest  crops,  the  conclusion  that  he 
need  not  like  the  farmer  manure  nor  change  his 


122  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

crop,  provided  the  litter  is  left,  and,  moreover,  that 
he  can  grow  his  crop  on  soils  which  are  not  fit 
for  agriculture. 

This  fact,  which  also  refers  to  soils  and  situa- 
tions that  are  topographically  unfit  for  ploughing, 
is  one  of  greatest  importance  to  the  political  econo- 
mist. For  with  the  increased  need  of  food  supplies, 
the  necessity  of  using  the  soils  to  their  utmost 
arises,  and  the  possibihty  of  relegating  the  non- 
agricultural  soils  to  forestry  use  is  a  welcome  aid 
in  the  solution  of  this  problem.  This  relegation 
of  soils  to  their  best  use  is  now  actively  and  con- 
sciously going  on  in  the  densely  populated  Ger- 
man states,  the  economic  policy  being  to  exchange 
worn-out,  poor  agricultural  soil  for  forest  use,  and 
to  turn  agricultural  soil  under  forest  to  farm  use.^ 

Hence,  also,  the  mountain  slopes,  the  very  places 
where,  for  the  sake  of  favorable  water  conditions, 
a  forest  cover  is  needed,  are  par  excellence  forest 
lands;  for  a  slope  of  15°  makes  them  unfit  for 
plough  land,  and  one  of  20°  to  30°  excludes  them 
from  use  as  pastures,  while  forest  growth  will  still 
maintain  itself  satisfactorily  on  slopes  of  40°  or 
more. 

We  come  here  to  the  recognition  of  a  natural 
subdivision  of  our  soils  into  absolute  forest  soils, 
those  which  are  only  fit  for  forest  crops,  and  rela- 
tive forest  soils,  which  may  come  into  competition 

1  Prussia  has  for  some  years  appropriated  large  sums  (^250,000 
annually)  for  the  purchase  and  reforestation  of  poor,  worn-out  lands. 


FACTORS   OF   FOREST   PRODUCTION.       123 

with  pasture  and  farm  use,  and  which  require  care- 
ful consideration  as  to  which  use  is  financially,  or 
for  other  reasons,  preferable. 

If  we  compare  the  amount  of  production  per 
acre  in  the  two  industries,  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  in  such  countries  as  Europe  the  forest  occupies 
already  mostly  these  poorer  sites  and  situations, 
the  absolute  forest  soils,  and  hence  the  comparison 
must  be  unfavorable,  apparently,  as  far  as  money 
returns  are  concerned. 

In  amount  of  vegetable  material  produced,  for- 
est crops,  to  be  sure,  are  in  no  way  inferior ;  nay, 
if  we  do  not  confine  ourselves  to  the  wood,  but 
add  the  leaf  litter  produced  per  year,  offsetting 
the  straw  of  agricultural  crops,  the  forest  pro- 
duces larger  quantities  in  weight  than  the  farm. 
Taking  average  crops  of  the  common  farm  prod- 
uce, there  are  produced  dry  weights  of  3400  to 
4600  pounds  vegetable  substance  per  acre,  of 
which,  mostly,  not  more  than  one-third  is  repre- 
sented in  the  grain ;  while  the  forest  acre  produces 
8000  to  10,000  pounds,  of  which  one-half  or  more 
is  wood,  namely,  4500  to  6500  pounds,  with  450 
pounds  for  roots,  and  3000  pounds  for  leaves,  the 
dry  substance  of  wood  grown  per  acre  per  year 
varying  between  1500  and  3600  pounds,  accord- 
ing to  the  site.^  The  interesting  fact  is  that  all 
species  produce  on  the  same  site  the  same  weights, 

1  A  one-hundred-year-old  stand  then  contains  at  best  180  tons 
of  dry  wood,  equivalent  to  about  90  tons  of  carbon. 


124  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

but,  to  be  sure,  the  cubic  contents  vary  greatly  on 
account  of  the  difference  in  specific  weight,  due 
to  the  manner  in  which  the  wood  is  deposited. 
This  production  in  cubic  feet  is  dependent  on 
the  condition  of  the  forest  crop,  varying  from  less 
than  30  to  100  cubic  feet,  including  the  brush- 
wood. Taking  only  the  more  useful  wood  down 
to  3-inch  diameter,  which  we  call  timber-wood,  the 
results  of  large  forest  administrations  average 
between  35  and  75  cubic  feet,  or  about  55  cubic 
feet  in  the  average,  deciduous-leaved  forest  pro- 
ducing the  smaller,  coniferous  forest  the  higher, 
figures.  Differentiating  qualities  still  further,  we 
may  state  that  to  these  figures  corresponds  a  lumber 
product  of  200  to  500  feet  B.M. 

In  this  connection  it  is  significant  to  note  that  in 
Switzerland  the  product  in  the  government  forests 
was  71  cubic  feet  (maximum  96,  minimum  29),  in 
the  cantonal  and  communal  forests  50,  and  in  pri- 
vate forests  47  cubic  feet,  i.e.,  40  per  cent,  less 
than  in  the  government  forests,  an  indication  of 
superior  management  in  the  latter.  In  France  the 
same  difference  appears,  the  government  forests  in 
1876  producing  at  the  rate  of  49,  the  communal  of 
40,  cubic  feet.  How  the  forest  product  responds 
to  superior  management  appears  in  all  German 
forest  administrations.  In  Prussia,  for  instance, 
the  cut,  supposedly  gauged  to  the  annual  growth, 
rose  from  28  cubic  feet  in  1830  to  41  cubic  feet  in 
1868,  and  to  51.5  cubic  feet  in   1900;  in  Saxony 


FACTORS    OF   FOREST   PRODUCTION.       125 

the  yield  doubled  in  50  years  to  70  cubic  feet  for 
the  average  acre. 

The  third  factor  of  production,  capital,  must,  as 
usually,  be  divided  into  the  current  or  working  fund 
which  expresses  the  capital  required  to  carry  on  the 
current  business,  and  the  fixed  investment,  which  ex- 
presses the  capital  tied  up  permanently  as  a  basis 
for  continuous  production. 

Since  the  labor  expense  is  relatively  small,  since 
none  or  only  simple  machinery  is  necessary,  and 
simple  tools  and  no  buildings  are  required  to  house 
the  crop,  and  even  the  procurement  of  seed  and 
plants  may  be  often  dispensed  with,  the  current 
working  fund  in  the  forestry  business  may  be 
rather  small.  While,  according  to  statistics  gathered 
by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
in  1893,  the  current  expenditure  for  wheat  and 
corn  crops  was  ^8.88  and  $8.68  respectively, 
not  counting  rent  for  land  and  superintendence ; 
in  German  forest  administrations  the  cost  of  man- 
agement to  be  paid  from  a  working  fund  averages 
about  $2  per  acre,  being,  for  the  single  items,  from 
22  to  65  cents  per  acre  for  protection  and  adminis- 
tration, 30  cents  to  $1  for  harvest,  15  to  22  cents 
for  planting  and  cultural  measures  generally,  6  to 
33  cents  for  road  building,  most  of  which  might 
correctly  be  charged  to  investment. 

In  the  logging  business,  which  deals  only  or 
mainly  with  exploitable  timber,  lacking  or  not  tak- 
ing into  consideration  the  younger  age  classes,  the 


126  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

case  is  entirely  different,  and  the  expenditures  for 
harvest  alone  may  range  from  $25  to  $75  per  acre 
and  more. 

But  the  difference,  that  renders  the  established 
regulated  forestry  business  unique,  is  the  amount 
and  the  character  of  the  permanent  or  fixed  capital. 

Both  the  farming  and  the  forestry  industry  have 
in  common,  besides  buildings  and  tools,  the  soil  as 
the  basis  of  production.  Since  forestry  is  gradu- 
ally relegated  to  the  poor  soils,  this  part  of  the  in- 
vestment is  comparatively  much  smaller  than  in 
agriculture,  unless  agricultural  soils  are  used  in  for- 
est growing.  Thus  in  Prussia,  where,  as  we  have 
seen,  lately  purchases  of  absolute  forest  soils  have 
been  made  by  the  government,  the  average  price 
paid  in  3  years  for  about  7500  acres  was  less  than 
$22,  including  occasionally  inferior  timber  and  build- 
ings, the  range  being  from  $3  to  $33.30,  while  the 
better  agricultural  soils  bring  in  the  province  of 
Brandenburg  $100  to  ;^i6o  per  acre.  In  other 
districts,  where  forest  products  are  higher  in  price, 
the  value  of  forest  soils  ranges  somewhat  higher, 
namely,  from  $15  to  $60  and  occasionally  ;^8o. 
But  in  forestry  the  fixed  capital  is  not  confined  to 
the  soil;  the  much  larger  value  is  represented  in 
the  growing  stock  of  wood,  which  must  be  allowed 
to  accumulate  before  it  is  ready  for  the  axe.  This 
is  the  most  characteristic  feature  in  the  wood-crop- 
ping business  carried  on  for  continuity :  that  only 
the  accumulated  accretions  of  many  years  can  be 


FACTORS  OF  FOREST  PRODUCTION.   127 

harvested,  and  that,  until  harvest  time  has  arrived, 
they  are  tied  up  and  are  in  the  nature  of  fixed  capi- 
tal, accumulating  with  compound  interest  charges. 

To  understand  the  nature  of  this  capital  and  get 
an  idea  of  the  amount  involved,  we  will  have  to 
look  at  it  from  various  points  of  view. 

If  we  were  to  start  on  a  blank  area  and  were  to 
plant  our  crop,  we  would  have  only  the  soil  (S)  as 
fixed  capital ;  but  since  we  could  not  harvest  from 
year  to  year,  and  thus  withdraw  the  interest,  the  ex- 
penditure for  planting  (E)  would  also  have  to  be 
considered  fixed  ;  moreover,  the  interest  on  both  soil 
and  other  expenditures,  being  by  necessity  accumu- 
lating, becomes  fixed,  until  at  harvest  time  both  capi- 
tal and  accumulated  interest,  except  the  soil  capital, 
become  liquidated  and  then  again  the  process  of 
fixation  is  gone  through.  The  fixed  capital  would 
have  grown  to  {S-\-E)  i.o/'",  and  the  interest  repre- 
sented by  harvest  returns  would  then  hQ(S  +  E)i.oj?'' 
—  (S  +  E),  or  (S  +  E)  (i.op''—  i);  r  being  the  time 
during  which  the  capital  is  tied  up,  and/  the  inter- 
est-rate at  which  the  capital  is  supposed  to  produce. 

If  we  started,  as  the  forest  exploiter  does,  with 
a  ready-made  crop  of  virgin  timber,  we  might  take 
the  position  which  he  usually  does,  namely,  remove 
at  once  the  valuable  part  of  the  crop,  and  turn  it 
into  cash,  when  as  a  rule  both  the  current  capi- 
tal involved  in  harvesting  and  transporting  the 
crop,  and  the  investment  in  land  or  stock,  are  liqui- 
dated at  once,  or  in  short  time,  the  stumpage  value 
paid  under  such  crude  conditions  being  usually  kept 


128  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

disproportionate  to  its  actual  value ;  and  the  basis 
of  future  production  may  be  said  to  be  a  zero  cap- 
ital, neither  the  soil  nor  the  prospective  under- 
growth being  considered  of  any  value,  and  in  fact 
no  conscious  forest  management  for  new  crop 
being  intended,  the  reproduction  being  left  to 
accident  and  nature  alone  and  allowing  perhaps 
a  return  for  further  harvest  at  some  later  time. 
The  aspect  changes  when  real  forest  manage- 
ment, not  for  intermittent  returns,  but  for  annual 
business,  is  contemplated,  when  the  forest  is  to  be 
so  regulated  that  every  year  forever  a  harvest  is 
to  be  secured  in  proportion  to  the  capacity  of  soil 
and  species  of  producing  it  continuously,  i.e.  when 
the  increment  only  is  to  be  harvested,  which  every 
year  brings.  We  can  readily  conceive  what  the 
ideal  condition  of  such  a  forest  must  be.  If  we  had 
determined  that  our  crop  is  best  harvested  when 
one  hundred  years  of  age,  then,  in  order  to  harvest 
always  one-hundred-year-old  timber,  we  must  have 
a  series  of  one  hundred  stands,  each  one  differing 
by  one  year  in  age  down  to  yearling  growth,  so 
that  each  year  one  stand  becomes  ripe.  It  appears 
then  clear  that  the  contents  of  the  ninety-nine 
stands  from  one  to  ninety-nine  years  old,  expressed 
in  volume  or  value,  are  the  wood  capital ;  and  the 
hundredth  stand  is  the  interest  or  harvest  or  fell- 
ing budget  (the  last  stand  representing  as  well  the 
increments  of  one  hundred  years,  as  the  one  hun- 
dred increments  of  one  year  on  the  whole  area) 


FACTORS    OF    FOREST   PRODUCTION.       129 

which  may  be  cut ;  and  if  reproduced  as  cut,  the 
continuity  of  similar  harvests  is  assured. 

If  we  call  the  annual  increment  of  any  one  stand 
i,  and  instead  of  the  one  hundred  years  substi- 
tute the  general  term  of  years  r  (rotation),  the 
capital  stock  is  the  sum  of  the  arithmetic  series 
z  +  2  /  +  3  2  .  .  .  +  ri  which,  according  to  well- 
known  mathematical  laws,  is  -  x  (ri  -\-  i) ;  or,  since 
2 

/  is  relatively  quite  small,  it  may  be  neglected,  and 
if  we  substitute  for  ri  =  I,  i.e.  the  annual  increment 

of  all  the  stands,  the  form  becomes  -/,  or  in  other 

2 

words  the  capital  stock  of  wood  which  must  be 
maintained  is  the  increment  occurring  on  the  whole 
forest  through  half  the  rotation.  It  stands  to  rea- 
son that,  with  every  species  and  every  soil,  as  well 
as  with  every  rotation  and  system  of  management, 
the  amount  of  /  changes,  and  hence  the  capital 
stock  required. 

It  is  evident  that,  for  instance,  in  coppice  forest, 
sprout  lands,  which  are  usually  managed  in  rota- 
tions of  not  over  twenty  to  forty  years,  the  wood 
capital  is  much  smaller  than  in  timber  forest,  which 
requires  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years  and  more  to  become  mature. 

Merely  to  give  an  idea  of  the  relative  amounts 
which  different  conditions  may  require,  we  will 
assume  that  70  cubic  feet  of  wood  per  acre  repre- 
sents the  annual  increment,  then  a  coppice  of  100 


130  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

acres  in  twenty-year  rotation  would  require  as 
wood  capital  lOO  x  70  x  10  =  70,000  cubic  feet; 
while  the  same  100  acres  managed  as  timber  for- 
est in  one-hundred-and-twenty-year  rotation  would 
require  a  wood  capital  of  100  x  70  x  60  =  420,000 
cubic  feet,  or  six  times  as  much  as  the  coppice  in 
volume,  and,  to  be  sure,  many  more  times  in  value, 
since  in  the  timber  forest  higher-priced  material  is 
involved. 

In  actual  practice  in  a  large  average  (Bavarian 
and  French  forest  departments),  the  disproportion 
is  much  greater,  namely,  the  wood  capital  in  the 
timber  forest  is  eight  to  twenty-five  times  as  large 
as  in  the  coppice. 

To  give  a  few  absolute  figures  which  we  can 
take  from  the  elaborate  yield  tables  of  the  Ger- 
mans, a  Scotch  pine  timber  forest  of  100  acres  in 
one-hundred-year  rotation  would  require,  accord- 
ing to  the  character  of  the  site,  that  400,000  to 
900,000  cubic  feet  of  wood  be  maintained  as  wood 
capital ;  a  spruce  forest  requires  a  wood  capital  of 
560,000  to  1,540,000;  and  a  beech  forest  under 
similar  conditions  managed  for  continuity  would 
make  it  necessary  to  leave  500,000  to  700,000  cubic 
feet  in  round  numbers,  the  lower  figures  for  the 
poorer,  the  higher  figures  for  the  best  soils. 

Translated  into  money  values,  these  quantities 
would  vary  from  ^100  to  $600  per  acre,  and  in  the 
coppice,  to  be  sure,  not  over  $10  per  acre. 

We  see,  then,  that  in  a  properly  regulated  for- 


FACTORS   OF   FOREST   PRODUCTION.       131 

est  management  for  timber  production,  while  the 
soil  represents  the  smallest  portion  of  the  fixed 
capital,  soil  and  wood  capital  combined  exceeds 
the  fixed  capital  needed  in  an  intensive  farm  man- 
agement, and  on  the  whole  two  to  ten  times  the 
capital  required  in  agriculture  is  needed  to  carry 
on  forest  management  for  timber  production. 

Two  most  important  deductions  from  the  stand- 
point of  political  economy  follow  from  this  dis- 
cussion. 

First,  that  the  time  element,  together  with  the 
large  capital  required  in  timber-wood  production, 
renders  the  forestry  business  undesirable  to  private 
enterprise  of  circumscribed  means ;  that  long-lived 
persons,  like  the  state  and  corporations,  and  large 
capitalists,  can  alone  engage  in  it  as  a  business  by 
itself  with  hope  of  financial  satisfaction. 

This  does  not  exclude  the  farmer's  wood-lot  as 
an  adjunct  to  the  farm,  but  he  will  finally  find  it 
more  advantageous,  if  he  figures  correctly,  to  man- 
age it  as  coppice,  not  as  a  timber  forest. 

Secondly,  the  fact  that  capital  and  interest,  wood 
stock  and  harvest,  are  mixed  together,  the  differ- 
entiation being  made,  not  by  the  character  of  the 
material,  but  by  voluntary  economic  considera- 
tions and  self-imposed  saving,  and  that,  while  in 
the  lower  age  classes  the  capital  is  tied  up  without 
any  possibilities  of  realizing  on  it,  it  is  possible  to 
liquidate  portions  of  it  in  the  older  age  classes  at 
any  time,  making  it  readily  available,  to  be  turned 


132  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

into  other  channels  —  this  ease  of  reducing  the 
fixed  capital  without  appreciable  loss  is  one  of  the 
peculiarities  of  the  forestry  business,  which  some- 
times may  be  of  advantage,  like  a  savings  bank 
account,  but  also  brings  with  it  the  danger  of  un- 
economic anticipation  of  the  harvest,  of  disturbing 
the  systematic  progress  of  a  management  for  con- 
tinuity, of  returning  to  mere  exploitation  when  there 
is  an  urgent  need  of  money. 

Hence,  not  only  capital,  but  economic  capacity 
and  character  and  moral  strength  are  required  to 
maintain  a  systematic  forest  management  and  with- 
stand the  temptation  to  realize.  Again  the  state, 
communities,  and  corporations,  who  have  an  interest 
in  continuity,  are  most  safely  intrusted  with  a  busi- 
ness that  can  be  so  easily  unbalanced. 

It  is  also  evident  that  a  profitable,  well-regulated 
forest  management  for  annual  returns  as  a  business 
by  itself  is  only  possible  on  a  large  acreage.  This 
will  appear  readily  from  the  consideration  that  Ger- 
man government  forests  net  from  ^i  to  $4.50  per 
acre  per  year  (as  against  $24  for  farm  lands) ; 
hence,  to  furnish  $1000  margin  not  less  than  250 
to  1000  acres  are  required,  and  to  pay  a  competent 
manager's  salary  alone,  without  interest  and  profit 
on  the  business,  requires  at  least  2500  acres,  while, 
to  be  sure,  he  would  not  be  fully  occupied  with  less 
than  10,000  to  20,000  acres.  And  we  must  not  for- 
get that  the  results  in  these  German  forests  are 
obtained  now  after  a  century  of  systematic  manage- 


FACTORS   OF   FOREST   PRODUCTION.       133 

ment,  and  then  are  only  possible  by  having  very 
large  areas  under  one  management,  when  the  good 
acres  offset  the  loss  on  the  poor  acres.  Under 
such  conditions  35  to  60  per  cent  of  the  gross  yield 
goes  for  labor  and  administration,  one-third  to  one- 
quarter  for  the  former,  one-fifth  to  one-seventh  for 
the  latter,  leaving  40  to  65  per  cent  of  the  gross  yield 
as  profit,  equivalent  to  a  rate  of  3  to  5  per  cent  on  the 
wood  capital  from  soil  otherwise  mostly  valueless. 

There  are  other  consequences  which  follow 
from  the  character  of  the  wood  capital :  the  diffi- 
culty of  determining  what  is  capital,  what  interest 
makes  the  renting  of  woods  for  systematic  forest 
management  impracticable  ;  and  such  management 
is  also  unsuitable  for  stock  companies,  which  are 
formed  to  make  money  fast  and  lack  conservative 
spirit,  however  favorable  such  companies  may  be 
in  conducting  mere  forest  exploitation.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  conceivable  that  trusts  could 
most  advantageously  carry  on  the  forestry  busi- 
ness, owing  to  the  fact  that  large  fixed  capital  is 
needed,  and  is  most  safely  invested  in  forest 
growth,  promising  secure  and  steadily  growing 
income,  and  that  the  more  surely  the  larger  the 
property  under  one  management. 

There  are,  to  be  sure,  dangers  to  the  wood  capi- 
tal from  insects,  storms,  and  fires  ;^  but  they  can 

1  In  Prussian  forest  districts  in  fifteen  years  405  fires  were  reported, 
but  only  191  acres  in  1,000,000  were  damaged  out  of  the  7,000,000 
acres  involved. 


134  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

be  reduced  to  a  minimum  of  permanent  injury, 
and  the  more  easily  the  larger  the  property  under 
one   management. 

All  things  in  the  production  of  which  nature 
plays  the  important  part  have  the  tendency  to  rise 
in  price,  while  those  relying  principally  on  labor 
and  capital  sink.  That  the  price  of  wood  is  bound 
to  rise  is  not  only  a  matter  of  simple  philosophy  as 
long  as  forest  area  decreases  and  demand  for  wood 
increases,  but  also  of  history  wherever  natural 
resources  have  been  reduced  to  the  necessity  of 
management.  (See  further  on  regarding  rise  in 
prices.)  The  financial  results  of  German  forest 
administrations  are  certainly  most  assuring  as  to 
the  profitableness  of  a  systematic  forest  manage- 
ment pursued  during  the  last  one  hundred  years, 
through  all  the  changes  of  economic  conditions 
which  have  characterized  that  century. 

Evidences  of  the  increasing  profitableness  of 
these  administrations  are  given  in  the  statistics 
contained  in  the  Appendix.  The  increased  yields 
and  incomes  there  recorded  do  not,  however,  tell 
the  entire  story,  for  they  do  not  show  the  additional 
improvement  in  the  condition  and  earning  power 
of  the  properties. 

Taking,  for  instance,  the  Sa.xon  forest  property 
of  only  430,000  acres,  we  find  that,  although  the 
cut  of  wood  had  increased  from  23,500  cubic  feet 
in  1850  to  37,400  cubic  feet  in  1893,  an  increase 
of  60  per  cent,  the  timber  wood  per  cent  (wood  of 


FACTORS   OF    FOREST    PRODUCTION.       135 

superior  size  not  cordwood)  had  increased  from  14 
to  54  per  cent,  or  about  48  feet  per  acre,  or  over  300 
per  cent,  and  at  the  same  time  the  wood  capital  had 
increased  nearly  25  per  cent.  While  the  net  in- 
come during  the  earlier  period,  when  wood  was 
worth  5.6  cents  per  cubic  foot,  amounted  to  ^1.12 
per  acre,  in  1893  the  price  had  risen  to  9.9  cents, 
or  'j6  per  cent,  but  the  net  income  had  risen 
nearly  300  per  cent,  namely,  to  $4.37  for  every 
acre  of  the  property,  while  the  expenditures  had 
been  more  than  doubled. 

When  it  is  considered  that  Saxony  has  taken  in 
about  $200,000,000  during  the  last  fifty  years  from 
a  small  area  of  rough  mountain  land,  a  tract  half 
the  size  of  many  a  county  in  the  United  States, 
and  that  without  diminishing,  but  rather  increasing, 
its  earning  power,  the  advantage  of  a  careful  treat- 
ment of  forest  areas,  at  least  to  the  state,  the  com- 
munity, must  be  apparent. 

Considering  the  net  income  as  the  interest  of 
the  value  of  the  forest  lands  at  a  3  per  cent  interest 
rate,  it  appears  that,  meanwhile,  the  capital  value 
of  these  lands  has  increased  from  $100  to  $150, 
whereas  their  deforestation  would  quickly  convert 
them  into  poor  alpine  pastures,  which  would  bank- 
rupt their  owners  at  $10  per  acre. 

To  the  uninitiated  an  interest  rate  of  5  per  cent, 
which  the  appreciation  of  the  investment  and  the 
continued  revenue  of  3  per  cent  represents,  would 
appear  unattractive;  but  when  the  conditions  under 


136  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY. 

which  this  rate  is  secured  are  considered,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  any  other  business  that  under 
similar  non-speculative  conditions  and  management 
could  make  such  a  showing. 

It  is  the  consensus  of  a  large  number  of  promi- 
nent financiers  in  the  United  States,^  that  at  the 
present  time  an  absolutely  safe,  satisfactory  long 
time  investment  in  this  country  cannot  net  more 
than  3  to  32-  per  cent,  with  a  tendency  to  decreasing 
rates. 

A  number  of  reasons  can  be  adduced  for  the 
claim  that  the  forestry  business  is  one  of  those 
which  is  entitled  to  a  low  interest  rate.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  form  of  the  capital  varies  the  inter- 
est rate,  besides  those  more  general  modifiers  of 
the  value  of  capital,  such  as  the  general  safety, 
prosperity,  and  credit  of  a  country,  and  the  supply 
and  demand  for  money.  Among  the  features  which 
render  capital  invested  in  forestry  business  of  such 
a  character  as  to  satisfy  a  low  interest  rate,  are  the 
following :  — 

Like  all  landed  property,  the  safety  of  the  invest- 
ment is  great ;  moreover,  since  forest  property  un- 
der forestry  management  does  not,  as  we  have  seen, 
lend  itself  to  renting,  but  is  usually  managed  on 
own  account,  no  allowance  needs  be  made  in  the 
interest-rate  it  must  bring  for  the  premium  for 
risk  which  loaned  capital  requires.    As  long  as  the 

1  "  Letters  of  Prominent  Financiers  on  Interest  Rates,"  Equi- 
iable  Life  Assurance  Society,  1899. 


FACTORS  OF  FOREST  PRODUCTION.   137 

fire  danger  is  as  great  as  in  this  country,  the  safety 
of  forest  property  under  certain  conditions  (conifer- 
ous forest,  dry  regions)  is,  to  be  sure,  greatly  im- 
paired. That  this  danger  does  not  need  to  exist  is 
amply  shown  by  European  experiences,  and  as  soon 
as  forest  properties  are  really  managed  and  not  only 
exploited,  they  will  have  the  same  safety. 

In  Prussia,  with  7,000,000  acres,  including  large 
pineries  on  sandy  plains,  in  25  years  (1868- 1895) 
only  T400  acres,  or  0.02  per  cent,  or  i  acre  in  4500, 
were  burned  over,  and  some  years  not  more  than 
I  in  8000,  a  small  percentage  for  so  large  and 
specially  endangered  properties.  In  the  moun- 
tainous forests  of  Bavaria  in  5  years  (i  877-1 881) 
only  I  acre  in  13,167  was  lost  by  fire,  less  than 
0.007  per  cent  of  the  2,000,000  acres,  the  loss  rep- 
resenting 2  per  cent  of  the  gross  yield.  This  state 
lost  heavily  by  insects  and  storms,  but  such  loss  is 
usually  of  Httle  consequence  on  large  areas,  only 
disturbing  the  regular  management,  and  readily 
compensated.  In  1868  to  1878  windfalls  and  dam- 
age by  beetles  made  it  necessary  to  anticipate  the 
cutting  of  400,000,000  cubic  feet,  and  although 
thereby  the  regular  cut  was  increased  by  2.1  per 
cent,  this  increase  remained  without  any  influence 
on  normal  prices. 

The  permanency  and  continuity  of  the  invest- 
ment, the  amenity  and  dignity  of  large  landed 
property,  recommend  it  to  large  capitalists ;  and 
since  the  nature  of  the  business  necessitates  the 


138  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

employment  of  large  fixed  capital,  the  usual  low 
rate  prevails  which  accompanies  large  capital  in- 
vestments, safely  placed  and  avoiding  the  losses 
incident  to  re-investment. 

The  promptness  and  absolute  assurance  with 
which  the  revenues  may  be  expected,  and  also 
the  advantage  of  being  able  to  anticipate  revenue 
when  needed,  have  the  same  tendency.  Finally, 
the  general  tendency  to  lower  interest  rates,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  higher  prices  for  wood, 
promise  an  advantage  in  the  future  (especially 
in  a  country  where,  on  account  of  extensive  for- 
est exploitation,  prices  are  still  comparatively 
low)  which  will  make  investments  in  forest  prop- 
erty for  continuous  management  show  superior 
advantage  to  most  other  forms  of  capital  of  large 
size. 

This  rise  of  prices,  of  which  we  gave  an  example 
for  the  densely  populated,  industrial  little  state  of 
Saxony,  comes  out  still  more  strikingly  in  the 
larger,  and  more  extensively  managed  Prussian  for- 
ests. Here  the  average  price  per  cubic  foot  nearly 
doubled  in  the  35  years  from  1830  to  1865,  and 
from  1850  to  1895  it  rose  nearly  50  per  cent,  namely 
from  3  cents  to  4|  cents  per  cubic  foot,  all  together 
an  increase  of  i  h  per  cent  annually  for  a  period  of 
65  years. 

In  every  case  of  the  state  forest  administrations 
of  Germany,  we  observe  steady  increase  in  material 
production,  value  production,  expenditures,  appre- 


FACTORS   OF   FOREST   PRODUCTION.       139 

ciatioii  of  investment,  and  net  yield,  as  the  table  in 
the  Appendix  exhibits. 

One  important  policy  which  has  brought  about 
this  result,  and  which  defines  in  general  the  finan- 
cial requirement  of  forestry,  has  been  that  these 
state  administrations  were  willing  and  able  to  forego 
present  revenue  for  the  sake  of  continued  future 
revenues,  to  give  up  immediate  momentary  profits 
for  the  sake  of  making  larger  profits  distributed  in 
time. 

Forest  management  means  that  some  part  of 
the  forest,  the  wood  capital,  must  be  left,  although 
it  could  be  turned  into  cash,  or  that  money  be  spent 
in  establishing  such  a  wood  capital  where  it  is  defi- 
cient, waiting  for  the  time  of  returns.  No  business 
realizes  more  than  the  forestry  business  that  time 
is  money,  and  time  is  what  the  small  capitahst  does 
not  have.  It  is,  therefore,  not  a  business  for  the 
small  capitahst,  who  must  work  for  large  margins. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

NATURAL  HISTORY  OF   THE   FOREST. 

To  understand  the  operations  of  the  forester,  it 
is  necessary  to  have  some  knowledge  regarding 
the  life  history  of  the  object  of  his  endeavor. 

We  have  seen  that  the  forest  is  not  a  mere  col- 
lection of  trees,  but  an  organic  whole,  the  result  of 
evolutionary  development,  of  adaptations  and  reac- 
tions to  the  environment,  of  interrelations  between 
the  components  of  the  forest  and  the  soil,  climate, 
and  lower  vegetation,  as  well  as  between  the  com- 
ponents themselves. 

While  the  forester  must  necessarily  be  thor- 
oughly conversant  with  the  development  of  the 
single  tree  and  all  the  conditions  influencing  it,  he 
cannot  stop  there,  but  must  also  know  its  behavior 
when  placed  in  relation  to  associates  in  the  com- 
munity of  companions,  for  it  is  his  business  to  de- 
velop this  community  in  such  a  manner,  and  bring 
all  influences  and  elements  of  environment  into 
such  a  relation  to  it,  that  it  will  produce  a  certain 
desired  result.  Acres  of  forest,  not  single  trees, 
concern  him. 

The  virgin  forest  and  the  forester's  forest  will 
140 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   THE   FOREST.      141 

necessarily  differ,  inasmuch  as  the  former  is 
merely  the  result  of  a  natural  evolutionary  strug- 
gle among  the  different  forms  of  vegetation,  in 
which  the  "  most  fit "  survivors  may  not  be  the 
economically  desirable,  while  the  forester  substi- 
tutes artificial  selection  for  natural  selection,  and 
makes  sure  of  the  protected  survival  of  the  most 
useful.  Within  limits,  at  least,  he  has  it  in  his 
power  to  influence  the  seemingly  lawless  mixture 
of  species  which  the  virgin  forest  offers  into  a 
form  more  suitable  for  his  purposes.  The  limits 
are  set  by  the  adaptability  of  the  species  to  climate 
and  soil,  and  by  the  skill  of  the  forester  in  recog- 
nizing and  utilizing  the  laws  under  which  the 
natural  forest  develops. 

Climatic  factors,  temperature  and  moisture  con- 
ditions, determine,  in  the  first  place,  the  field  of 
natural  distribution  of  the  various  species.  Differ- 
ent species  are  adapted  to  live  within  different 
ranges  of  temperature  and  of  relative  humidity, 
or  the  combination  of  both ;  hence,  different  types 
of  forest  occupy  the  different  regions  through 
which  we  pass  from  the  tropics,  with  their  palms 
and  broad-leaved  evergreen  trees,  through  the  de- 
ciduous-leaved forest  of  the  middle  latitudes,  com- 
posed of  oaks,  hickories,  chestnut,  and  tulip  tree, 
to  the  northern  latitudes,  where  birch,  maple, 
beech,  with  pine,  and  hemlock,  and  finally,  only 
aspen  and  spruce,  can  brave  the  wintry  blasts. 
And  beyond  the  last  outposts  of  these,  tousled  and 


142  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

dwarfed,  the  esquimaux  of  tree  growth,  the  treeless 
tundra  is  reached,  where  ice  and  snow  abound  all 
the  year,  the  home  of  winter. 

Similar  changes  in  type  may  be  traced  by  ascend- 
ing some  high  mountain  in  tropic  or  subtropic 
regions.  We  may  begin  our  journey  under  the 
palms.  As  we  ascend  2000  or  3000  feet,  we  pass 
through  the  varied  evergreen,  broad-leaved  forest, 
into  the  deciduous-leaved  forest,  not  dissimilar  to 
that  of  our  middle  latitudes.  At  an  altitude  of 
8000  feet  we  enter  the  dominion  of  spruces  and 
firs.  At  10,000  to  15,000  feet  the  forest  opens, 
the  trees  stand  in  groups,  are  dwarfed  and  tousled 
like  their  northern  counterparts,  hugging  each 
other  and  the  ground  for  protection  against  the 
winter  storms ;  finally,  the  timber  line  is  reached, 
where  killing  frosts  occur  every  month  in  the 
year,  and  no  persistent  life  can  exist. 

Again,  variation  in  the  relative  humidity,  in  con- 
nection with  temperature  conditions,  brings  about 
changes  in  forest  types ;  from  the  humid  seashore 
to  the  drouthy  interior  of  continents,  we  find  differ- 
ent species  adapted  to  the  many  possible  combina- 
tions of  temperature,  humidity,  and  winds,  which 
together  influence  that  most  important  physiologi- 
cal function  needful  in  the  life  of  the  tree,  tran- 
spiration. Dry  climates,  like  cold  climates,  tend 
to  diminish  growth,  and  reduce  the  number  of 
species  composing  the  forest. 

Within   the  geographical  range  of  the  species 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    THE   FOREST.     143 

thus  limited,  soil  conditions  vary,  and  again  dif- 
ferentiate the  distribution ;  the  frugal  pines  being 
able  to  subsist  on  the  deep,  overdrained  sands,  the 
shallow-rooted  spruces  on  the  thin  soils  of  alpine 
situations,  the  elms,  swamp  maples,  tupelo,  bald 
cypress,  being  indifferent  to  excess  of  moisture  at 
their  feet,  the  hickories,  walnuts,  and  tulip  trees 
seeking  the  rich,  loamy  soils,  and  others  again 
being  ubiquitous,  adapted  more  or  less  readily  to 
any  kind  of  soil. 

While,  then,  certain  territory  is  assigned  to  the 
different  tree  species,  which  through  eras  of  evolu- 
tion have  adapted  themselves  to  the  climatic  and  soil 
conditions, — and  this  is  a  very  important  eco- 
nomic fact,  since  usefulness  of  species  varies,  —  yet 
the  absence  of  a  species  from  a  given  locality  does 
not  necessarily  predicate  its  inability  to  exist  and 
thrive  in  such  a  locality,  since  there  are  also  me- 
chanical barriers,  like  wide  oceans  and  high  moun- 
tain ranges,  or  there  may  be  absence  of  suitable 
means  of  transportation  for  the  seed,  prevent- 
ing its  spread,  and  these  difficulties  man  can 
overcome. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  impossible  to  exchange  and 
distribute  artificially  the  useful  species,  as  has 
been  done  in  agriculture  and  horticulture.  But 
in  the  case  of  plant  material  for  forest  purposes 
it  is  impracticable  to  give  special  protection  to  the 
introduced  species  through  the  long  term  of  its 
growth  to  usefulness,  as  may  be  done  in  the  case 


144  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

of  animals  or  even  of  fruit-trees.  Acclimatization^ 
so  called,  in  forestry  is,  therefore,  practically  con- 
fined to  overcoming  merely  the  mechanical  barri- 
ers of  distribution,  i.e.  to  transport  the  species, 
where  its  means  of  transportation  fail,  and  to 
give  it  a  chance  of  showing  its  adaptation  or  lack 
of  it. 

As  a  rule,  the  forester  relies  on  the  species 
which  he  finds  in  the  locality  in  which  he  is  to 
operate,  and  introduces  from  outside  only  species 
which  he  has  strong  reasons  to  believe  are  adapted 
to  his  locality,  and  at  the  same  time  promise  de- 
cided advantage  over  the  native  ones  either  in 
quality  or  quantity  of  product  or  in  other  silvi- 
cultural  qualities. 

Nor  has  "much  attempt  been  made  to  improve 
on  the  quality  of  the  wood  as  nature  produces  it. 
While  in  agricultural  products  nature  has  been 
improved  upon  in  nearly  every  case,  in  forest 
products  very  little  attention  has  been  given  to 
this  subject. 

The  forester,  more  than  the  agriculturist,  follows 
and  imitates  the  processes  of  nature ;  all  that  he 
attempts  is  to  direct  them  to  produce,  in  a  degree, 
better  form  and  larger  quantity  of  the  better  kinds 
which  he  finds  on  hand. 

While  the  presence  of  a  species  in  the  composi- 
tion of  the  natural  forest  is,  in  the  first  place,  due 
to  cHmatic  and  soil  conditions,  its  numerical  dis- 
tribution and  the  manner  of  its  occurrence  in  the 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF   THE   FOREST.     145 

mixed  forest  depend  primarily  on  two  qualities  in 
combination,  namely,  its  relative  rapidity  and  per- 
sistence of  height  growth,  and  its  relative  require- 
ments for  light,  while  the  manner  of  seed  production, 
seed  transportation,  and  character  of  seed  are  addi- 
tional factors. 

In  those  natural  forests  which  are  composed 
mainly  or  entirely  of  one  species,  a  comparatively 
rare  occurrence,  the  presumption  is  that  climatic 
or  soil  conditions  are  such  that  other  species  do 
not  find  them  congenial,  at  least,  not  when  they 
must  contend  for  root  and  air  space. 

One,  by  a  prolific  production  of  seed,  has  an 
advantage  over  another  which  produces  seed  only 
every  three  or  four  years.  The  heavy  nut  of  the 
walnut,  or  the  acorn  or  beechnut,  needs  squir- 
rels, mice,  birds,  and  water  to  extend  its  territory, 
while  the  light-winged  seeds  of  birch  and  poplar, 
carried  by  the  winds,  make  these  trees  almost 
ubiquitous.  The  seed  of  the  willow  loses  its  power 
of  germination  within  a  few  hours  or  days ;  hence 
it  is  confined  mainly  to  the  borders  of  streams, 
where  favorable  opportunities  for  sprouting  exist. 
The  acacia  and  others  of  the  leguminous  tribe, 
like  the  black  locust,  preserve  their  seed  alive 
for  many  years ;  nay,  the  seed  of  the  former  will 
often  lie  buried  in  the  ground  for  years,  until  a 
fire  that  destroys  all  other  vegetation  breaks  their 
hard  seed  coat  and  calls  to  life  the  dormant  germ : 
the  cones  of  some  pines  remain  closed,  and  release 

L 


146  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

the  seed  only  when  fire,  which  has  probably  de- 
stroyed all  competitors,  opens  them.  The  pecu- 
liarities of  the  seed,  then,  account  for  much  in  the 
distribution  of  plants. 

Next  comes  the  peculiarity  of  growth.  The 
long-leaf  pine,  which,  for  the  first  four  years,  does 
not  grow  more  than  two  or  three  inches  above  the 
ground,  is  at  a  disadvantage  in  that  first  period, 
during  which  it  has  occupied  itself  with  forming 
a  stout  root  system ;  but  thereafter,  by  virtue  of 
this  root  system,  it  may  endure  what  a  faster- 
growing  neighbor  could  not.  The  quickly  growing 
aspen  covers  large  areas,  but  its  reign  is  of  short 
duration,  for,  as  with  most  of  the  rapid  growers, 
its  life  is  short.  The  slower-growing  spruce,  which 
could  support  itself  under  the  light  shade  of  the 
aspen,  remains  on  the  field,  the  victor  by  sheer 
persistency. 

Capacity  to  resist  unfavorable  weather  condi- 
tions —  frost  and  drought  —  will  give  the  advan- 
tage to  one  species  over  the  other,  while  liability 
to  attacks  by  animals,  especially  insects,  may  also 
prove  disadvantageous  in  comparison  with  the 
others.  There  is  little  doubt  in  the  mind  of  the 
writer  that  the  big  trees,  the  Sequoias,  owe  their 
long  life  to  their  immunity  from  insects  and  fungi 
and  to  their  resistance  to  fire,  to  which  their  com- 
petitors succumb.  Finally,  however,  the  two  qual- 
ities first  mentioned,  relative  height  growth  and 
relative  light  requirement,  are  determinative. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   THE   FOREST.     147 

While  light  is  usually  accompanied  by  heat  and 
it  is  difficult  to  discern  how  much  of  the  effect  of 
it  on  plant  growth  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  heat 
which  causes  transpiration,  and  how  much  to  the 
light  as  such,  yet  it  is  now  well  known  that  light 
itself  exercises  various  influences  upon  vegeta- 
tion, some  of  which  are  still  imperfectly  or  not  at 
all  understood.  It  is  light  which  is  indispensable 
in  the  formation  of  chlorophyll  —  the  material 
which  imparts  the  green  color  to  plants ;  it  is 
light,  a  certain  degree  of  Hght,  upon  which  the 
assimilation  of  carbonic  acid  in  the  chlorophyll 
and  the  formation  of  starch  are  dependent;  it  is 
light,  together  with  other  factors,  which  influences 
transpiration  by  the  foHage,  which  determines  the 
development  of  the  crown  and  of  the  whole  tree 
in  direction  and  quantity  of  growth. 

It  has  been  observed  that  various  plants  show 
need  of  a  greater  or  smaller  amount  of  light  for 
their  development.  Some  plants  always  seek  the 
shady  places  in  the  woods  ;  others  enjoy  the  full 
sunshine  of  the  meadow.  The  dense  spruce  forest 
permits  only  a  moss-cover  on  the  soil,  while  the 
open-foliaged  oak  forest  permits  a  host  of  shrubs 
and  herbs  to  subsist.  Just  so,  some  trees  are  found 
thriving  under  the  shade  of  others,  while  these  are 
intolerant  of  the  shade  of  their  neighbors,  or  can 
endure  it  only  a  short  time.  So  all  important  and 
so  well  known  is  the  influence  of  light  on  the  de- 
velopment of  a  forest  crop  that  on  the  difference  of 


148  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

light  requirements  of  the  various  species  are  based 
the  most  important  forestal  operations.  According 
to  relative  tolerance  of  shade,  the  species  can  be 
graded  from  the  most  tolerant  to  the  least  tolerant, 
into  shade-enduring  or  light-needing.  Those  spe- 
cies which,  like  the  beech  or  sugar  maple,  the 
hemlock  or  the  fir  or  spruce,  form  dense  crowns 
evidently  need  less  light  than  those  with  lighter 
foliage,  for  the  interior  leaves  of  these  crowns  can 
grow  and  function  in  the  dense  shade.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  light-foliaged,  open-crowned  larch 
or  pine,  aspen  or  poplar,  ash  or  birch,  show  their 
extreme  sensitiveness  to  the  absence  of  light  by 
the  very  openness  of  their  crowns,  by  losing  early 
the  lower  branches  unless  they  are  fully  lighted, 
and  in  the  forest  by  the  inability  of  their  seedlings 
and  young  progeny  to  endure  the  shade  of  neigh- 
bors or  even  of  their  own  parent  trees. 

To  offset  this  drawback  in  their  constitution,  they 
have  usually  some  advantage  in  the  character  of 
the  seed,  and  are  mostly  endowed  with  a  rapid 
height  growth  in  their  youth,  so  that,  at  least  when 
the  competition  for  light  starts  with  even  chances, 
they  may  secure  their  share  by  growing  away  from 
their  would-be  suppressors.  They  can  keep  them- 
selves in  a  mixed  forest  only  by  keeping  ahead  and 
occupying  the  upper  crown  level.  The  tolerant 
species,  on  the  other  hand,  able  to  thrive  in  the 
shade  of  light-foliaged  species,  usually  increase 
more   slowly   in    height ;     but    their   capacity   of 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   THE   FOREST.     149 

shade  endurance  assures  to  them  a  place  in  the 
forest. 

Many  of  them  are  characterized  by  a  height 
growth  which,  though  slow,  is  persistent ;  while  the 
light-needing  species,  by  falling  behind  in  their 
rate  of  height  growth,  often  lose  in  the  end  what 
they  attained  in  their  youth.  As  a  result  the 
shade  endurers  finally  become  dominant,  and  the 
light  needers  occur  in  the  mixed  forest  only 
sporadically,  the  remnants  or  single  survivors  of 
groups,  all  the  outside  members  of  which  have 
perished ;  and  only  when  a  wind-storm  or  insect 
pest  creates  an  opening  of  sufficient  size  is  a  chance 
for  their  reproduction  given. 

Just  as  in  the  mixed  forest  the  species  are  dis- 
tributed according  to  their  shade  endurance,  so  in 
the  pure  forest  of  one  species,  or  of  species  of 
equal  tolerance,  will  the  different-sized  or  different- 
aged  trees  develop  side  by  side  according  to  avail- 
able light,  each  crowding  the  other,  the  laggards 
being  finally  killed  by  the  withdrawal  of  light. 

In  a  well-established  young  growth  of  white 
pine,  the  seedlings,  some  50,000  to  100,000  on  an 
acre,  with  their  symmetrical  crowns  sooner  or.  later 
form  a  dense  crown  canopy,  excluding  all  light  from 
the  soil.  After  a  few  years  the  leaves  of  the  lower 
branches,  no  longer  able  to  function  under  the  shade 
of  the  superior  part  of  the  crown  and  of  their 
neighbors,  fail  to  develop  and  the  branchlets  die 
and  break  off  ;  this  natural  cleaning,  which  secures 


I50  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

the  desirable  clear  boles,  takes  place  during  the 
period  of  rapid  height  growth,  which  occurs  from 
the  tenth  to  the  thirtieth  year.  At  the  age  of 
thirty  years  the  trees  are  slender  poles  having  a 
diameter  of  3  to  5  inches,  and  a  height  of  from  20 
to  25  feet,  with  a  few  taller  ones,  the  boles  bearing 
a  dense  conical  crown  and  beset  for  the  greater 
part  of  their  length  with  small  limbs,  the  lower 
ones  dead  or  dying.  Not  a  few  trees  are  seen  to 
fall  short  of  reaching  the  general  upper  crown 
level ;  the  crowns  of  these  laggards  are  shorter, 
more  open,  with  fewer  leaves  on  each  twig.  Others 
again  will  be  found  dead  or  scarcely  vegetating, 
with  crowns  very  poorly  developed.  In  other 
words,  we  can  recognize  different  vigor  in  devel- 
opment according  to  constitution  and  accidental 
opportunity,  and  can  make  a  differentiation  into 
development  classes :  the  predominant,  with  their 
crowns  5  to  10  feet  above  the  general  level,  which 
must  finally  make  up  the  mature  stand ;  the  sub- 
dominant,  still  alive  and,  should  accident  remove 
some  of  the  superior  class,  ready  to  occupy  their 
air  space ;  and  the  dominated  or  inferior  ones,  hope- 
lessly out  of  the  race. 

Of  the  tens  of  thousands  which  started  only 
2000  or  3000  are  surviving,  and  as  each  tree  tries 
to  expand  its  crown,  and  secure  for  itself  as  much 
air  space  as  well  as  root  space  as  it  can,  the  result 
is  a  continued  diminution  of  the  number  of  trees 
occupying  the  acre. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF   THE  FOREST.      151 

This  decimation  is  in  exact  mathematical  rela- 
tion, except  for  accidents,  with  the  development  of 
the  dominant,  especially  in  height  growth.  At  the 
age  of  eighty,  of  the  several  thousand  trees  which 
started  in  the  race,  only  a  portion  —  not  more  than 
400  to  500 — are  left.  Then  the  diminution  pro- 
ceeds at  a  slower  rate,  until  finally  only  200  to  300 
occupy  the  ground,  or  as  many  as  can  conveniently 
fill  the  air  space  in  the  upper  story,  the  number 
varying  according  to  soil  and  climatic  conditions 
and  species. 

The  time  has  arrived  when  the  height  growth  is 
practically  finished.  The  branches  cannot  lengthen 
any  more  to  occupy  the  air  space.  After  this  a  nu- 
merical change  can  take  place  only  as  a  result  of 
casualties,  caused  by  fungi,  insects,  fires,  or  wind- 
storms; these  of  course  may  also  from  the  start  in- 
terfere in  the  regular  progress  of  adjustment  which 
takes  place  under  the  effect  of  physiological  laws. 

In  reality  the  conditions  of  soil,  climate,  and 
species  in  combination  are  so  various  that  this  pro- 
cess of  evolution  does  not  appear  so  simple,  yet  the 
seemingly  lawless,  yet  actually  law-directed,  appear- 
ance of  a  forest  growth  explains  itself  by  these 
few  observations  of  the  results  of  action  and  reac- 
tion of  its  surroundings  and  of  the  single  compo- 
nents. 

The  factor  of  light  is  not  only  the  most  impor- 
tant one  in  bringing  about  the  evolution  of  the 
natural  forest,  but  practically  almost  the  only  one 


152  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

under  control  of  man.  With  the  knowledge  of  the 
light  requirements  and  with  the  judicious  use  of 
the  axe,  the  forester  is  enabled  to  stimulate  or 
suppress  one  species  or  another,  and  to  direct  in 
quantitative  and  qualitative  development  the  prog- 
ress of  his  crop,  and  finally  to  secure  the  regen- 
eration of  entire  forest  growths  with  species  that 
to  him  are  most  useful. 

Not  only  is  the  composition  largely  a  result  of 
changes  in  hght  conditions,  but  the  amount  of  pro- 
duction ceteris  paridus  is  a  function  of  the  light,  for 
the  amount  of  foliage  which  the  single  tree  can 
exhibit  to  the  influence  of  light  predicates  the 
amount  of  wood  it  produces  during  the  season, 
provided  that  food  supplies  are  accessible. 

The  whole  art  of  forestry,  in  its  technical  as 
well  as  in  its  financial  results,  is  based  upon  the 
knowledge  and  application  of  the  laws  of  accre- 
tion. Just  as  the  manner  in  which  composition 
and  numbers  arrange  themselves  as  a  result  of 
recognizable  laws  of  development,  so  the  growth 
of  the  individual  tree  as  well  as  the  growth  of  the 
whole  stand  of  trees  in  quantity  and  form  is  sub- 
ject to  laws  which  can  be  formulated.  The  math- 
ematics of  forest  growth,  developed  by  forest  men- 
suration,!  reveal  not  only  how,  but  how  much,  trees 

1  The  measurements  to  establish  the  progress  of  development 
are  based  upon  the  fact  that  trees  grow  annually  in  length  at  their 
tips  by  addition  of  shoots,  and  in  circumference  by  the  superposi- 
tion of  a   layer  of  wood  over  those  of  former  years,  which  in  a 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   THE   FOREST.     153 

and  stands  of  trees  grow,  how  much  useful  mate- 
rial they  are  capable  of  producing,  and  under  what 
conditions  the  largest  amount  of  the  most  useful 
material  may  be  produced  most  quickly  upon  a 
given  area,  which  is  the  principal  aim  of  the 
forester. 

As  we  recognize  in  the  animal  or  in  man  cer- 
tain periods  of  development  which  are  each  char- 
acterized by  progress  in  certain  directions,  so  we 
can  in  the  tree  individual  recognize  an  infantile 
stage,  the  seedling  first  unfolding  the  characteris- 
tics of  the  plant,  and  occupied  in  forming  organs 
of  nutrition.  This  process  continues  more  vigor- 
ously during  the  juvenile  period  or  brush-wood 
stage,  when  the  difference  in  inherited  capacity  is 
most  pronounced,  some  species  shooting  rapidly 
upward  —  mostly  light-needing  species  —  while 
others  first  consume  considerable  time  in  develop- 
ing a  root  system,  a  basis  upon  which  the  future 
persistent  growth  can  establish  itself.  During  this 
stage  the  difference  in  the  rate  of  height  growth 
of  different  species  is  greatest  and  we  can  speak 
of  rapid  and  slow  growers.  After  the  juvenile 
period  all  species  grow  more  or  less  alike  during 
the  brief  adolescent  or  pole-wood  period,  the  maxi- 
mum rate  of  height  growth  occurring  in  the  tenth 
to  fifteenth  year  with'tne  lightrueeding  and  in  the 
twentieth  to  fortieth  year  with  the  shade-enduring 

cross-section  appear  as  the  well-known  annual  rings,  permitting  a 
statement  of  relation  of  performance  to  time. 


154  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

species ;  then  follows  the  even  rate  of  the  adult  virile, 
or  young-timber  period,  during  which  maturity  and 
frequent  seed  production  absorb  part  of  the  energy 
until  the  maximum  height  is  reached,  and  in  the 
senile  or  old-timber  stage  height  growth  stops  alto- 
gether. The  virile  stage  is  of  most  uneven  length, 
and  here  the  "  law  of  the  lever  "  asserts  itself  often  : 
those  which  grow  most  rapidly  in  their  youth, 
as  a  rule,  cease  soonest  to  exert  themselves,  while 
the  slow  growers  are  persistent  and  finally  over- 
tower  the  rapid  ones. 

The  diameter  growth  proceeds  slowly  until  a  fully 
formed  crown  and  root  system  can  elaborate  the 
material  to  be  deposited  along  the  bole  in  annual 
layers.  As  these  conditions  improve  during  the 
adolescent  period,  so  does  the  rate  of  diameter 
growth  increase  and  the  maximum  rate  does  not 
occur  until  the  fortieth  to  eightieth  year,  then  very 
evenly  declining  into  late  life  ;  but  the  area  of  a 
cross-section  taken  in  any  part  of  the  bole,  usually 
breast  high,  increases  a  considerable  time  after  the 
diameter  rate  has  begun  to  sink,  as  mathematical 
reasoning  requires,  the  deposit  each  year  being 
made  on  a  larger  periphery. 

Of  greatest  economic  interest  is  the  form  devel- 
opment of  the  bole,  which  depends  upon  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  wood  is  deposited  over  the 
previous  year's  deposits.  In  well-fed  trees,  with 
fully  developed  crowns,  standing  in  the  open,  so 
much  food   is  elaborated  that  the  lower  portions 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF   THE   FOREST.     155 

receive  an  excess,  hence  we  find  such  trees  with 
broad  base  tapering  rapidly  toward  the  crown; 
while  trees  of  the  forest,  grown  in  denser  stand, 
and  having  smaller  confined  crowns,  elaborate  less 
material,  hence  the  lower  portions  do  not  receive 
so  much,  the  result  being  a  more  nearly  cylindrical 
form,  or  even  taper. 

In  the  volume  development  matters  become  more 
compHcated,  and  we  must  differentiate  it  into  parts, 
namely,  the  volume  of  the  bole,  and  that  of  the 
branches,  and  brush  wood,  not  to  speak  of  the  root 
growth,  or,  as  is  customary  with  foresters,  we  may 
consider  the  volume  of  the  useful  timber  wood, 
namely,  material  over  three  inches  in  diameter,  as 
differentiated  from  the  brush  wood,  of  smaller 
dimension. 

In  a  tree  grown  in  the  open,  the  crown  is  apt,  for 
a  time  at  least,  to  develop  at  the  expense  of  the 
bole,  and  the  deposition  of  new  material  takes 
place  more  largely  in  the  branches.  At  the  same 
time,  since  under  this  condition  the  largest  amount 
of  foliage  is  at  work,  the  largest  amount  of  total 
wood  is  also  produced  by  such  single  trees.  In  the 
forest  the  branch  development  is  impeded  by  the 
neighbors,  hence  each  single  component  of  the  for- 
est not  only  produces  less  wood,  but  the  distri- 
bution of  the  product  is  different,  the  valuable  bole 
receiving  more  than  the  less  valuable  branches. 
Since  open  position  secures  quantity,  dense  position 
quality,  we  can  conceive  of  such  a  position  or  density 


156  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

of  stand  that  will  secure  the  largest  amount  of 
deposit,  compatible  with  the  most  useful  form. 

In  general,  the  volume  accretion  of  trees  in  full 
enjoyment  of  light  experiences  a  constant  increase 
in  rate  after  the  adolescent  stage,  and  continues  at 
such  rate  for  a  long  time,  often  into  old  age. 

Of  course  different  soil  and  climatic  conditions, 
as  well  as  light  conditions,  influence  the  rate  of 
growth,  and  the  growth  of  different  species  also 
varies  in  amount.  Here  again  the  interesting  law 
of  the  lever  may  be  noted,  namely,  that  on  good 
sites  the  development  is,  to  be  sure,  more  rapid,  but 
the  culmination  in  the  rate  is  also  reached  more 
rapidly,  and  the  decline  is  more  rapid.  Similarly 
as  regards  species :  those  that  ^art  with  a  rapid 
growth  usually  reach  their  culmination  sooner  than 
the  slower  ones,  and  are  apt  to  decline  more  rap- 
idly in  their  rate,  so  that  in-^he  end  the  slow  but 
persistent  growers  may  outgrow  the  rapid  ones  in 
height,  diameter,  and  volume. 

In  the  forest,  as  we  have  seen,  the  individual 
trees  experience  an  influence  in  their  development 
from  the  shade  of  their  neighbors,  and  as  a  result, 
a  differentiation  of  trees  into  size  classes,  dominant 
and  inferior  growth  takes  place,  and  finally  as  a 
consequence  the  dying  off  of  the  latter,  the  dimi- 
nution in  numbers,  which  we  have  already  discussed. 
Both  height  and  diameter,  as  well  as  volume  growth, 
of  these  various  tree  classes,  together  with  the  dim- 
inution in  numbers,  must  be  studied  to  determine 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   THE   FOREST.     157 

the  Important  question  of  volume  development  of 
stands.  Hopeless  as  this  would  seem  at  first,  it 
has  been  accomplished  with  tolerable  success  by- 
German  foresters,  and  a  good  beginning  has  been 
made  for  the  species  of  the  United  States. 

The  general  laws  which  have  been  deduced 
from  the  thousands  of  measurements  made  by  the 
Germans  are,  within  limits,  applicable  to  our  native 
species  ;  they  exhibit  at  least  what  the  possibilities 
are  under  good  management. 

In  the  first  place,  these  measurements  show  that, 
so  far  as  weight  of  production  is  concerned,  the 
same  acre  produces  annually  the  same  weight  of  dry- 
material,  with  practically  whatever  species  it  may- 
be grown,  namely  from  4000  to  8000  pounds  per 
acre,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  acre  (see  p.  123). 
In  volume  there  is,  to  be  sure,  a  considerable  dif- 
ference, due  to  the  difference  in  specific  weight  of 
the  wood  of  different  species,  and  of  the  water  con- 
tents ;  in  other  words,  the  trees  with  heavy  wood 
\iovi\A,  ceteris  paribus,  produce  less  volume  per  year 
than  the  light  woods.  That  the  weight  of  vegetable 
product  should  be  the  same  was  logically  to  be 
expected,  since  on  the  same  acre  the  active  factors 
which  produce  assimilation  and  the  potential  energy 
of  the  soil  remain  the  same,  and  the  result  in  prod- 
uct must  be  the  same.  Nearly  one-half  of  this 
product  is  represented  by  foliage  and  roots,  and  one- 
fourth  by  brush  wood  and  bark,  leaving  only  about 
three-eighths  available  as  useful  wood  material. 


158  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

According  to  climatic  and  soil  conditions,  which^ 
in  combination,  are  technically  called  "site,"  the 
annual  production  of  available  dry  wood  substance 
above  ground,  when  the  site  is  fully  utilized,  varies 
from  at  least  3500  pounds  on  the  best  sites  to  1200 
pounds  on  the  poorest.  This  production  remains 
the  same,  regardless  of  the  number  of  trees  partici- 
pating in  it,  provided  that  the  entire  available  light 
space  be  filled  with  active  foliage,  or,  that,  techni- 
cally speaking,  there  is  a  full  crown  cover. 

From  this  observation  it  appears  that  not  the 
number  of  trees,  but  the  density  of  crown  cover, 
i.e.  the  intensity  of  utilization  of  the  light,  is  the 
important  factor  in  weight  production,  and,  ceteris 
paribus,  in  volume  production.  In  other  words, 
there  may  be  two  and  three  times  as  many  trees 
on  the  same  area,  and  yet  no  difference  in  total 
volume.  The  difference  due  to  numbers  will  ap- 
pear in  difference  of  the  distribution  of  volume  in 
more  or  less  useful  form;  hence  the  proper  gauging 
of  numbers  is  one  of  the  most  important  operations 
of  the  forester. 

As  we  have  seen  before,  in  a  dense  young  growth 
of  nature's  sowing,  there  may  be  50,000  or  more 
trees  per  acre,  which,  by  natural  thinning  after  the 
twentieth  year,  are  reduced  to  2000  or  2500,  and  then 
diminishing  steadily  in  number  at  a  slower  rate  ;  at 
the  end  of  the  hundredth  year  only  200  to  250  occupy 
the  upper  crown  level,  or  only  10  per  cent  are  left, 
90  per  cent  having  succumbed  to  the  shading,  or 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF   THE    FOREST.     159 

having  become  mere  undergrowth.  Hence,  while 
on  the  whole  the  volume  accretion  has  been  in- 
creasing, there  has  been  also  a  constant  loss  by 
the  death  of  the  inferior  trees,  a  loss  in  volume 
which  is  equal  to  at  least  30  to  40  per  cent  of 
the  final  harvest,  and  which,  in  part  at  least,  can 
be  saved  by  timely  interference  and  utilization. 

It  is  evident  that,  with  the  great  variety  of  con- 
ditions possible,  the  rate  of  production  of  useful 
wood,  i.e.  wood  of  log  and  bolt  size  fit  for  the  arts, 
varies  greatly.  Yet  through  painstaking  analysis 
and  classification  of  the  collected  measurements,  it 
has  been  possible  to  construct  for  each  species  and 
site  so-called  yield  tables,  which  under  the  premise 
of  a  fully  stocked  stand,  i.e.  full  crown  cover,  and 
of  proper  practice  in  thinning  out  the  dying  trees, 
record  the  progress  of  volume  accretion.  These 
tables,  then,  are  standards  of  measurement,  with 
which  the  forester  can  compare  his  actual  forest,  to 
see  how  far  he  is  away  from  the  possible  or  normal 
conditions,  and  what  he  may  expect  to  produce 
in  the  future.  These  state,  for  a  given  species  and 
given  site,  usually  in  periods  of  ten  years,  the  total 
amount  of  wood  per  acre  which  will  have  been 
produced  every  ten  years,  and  possibly  the  differ- 
ent classes  or  sizes  of  wood,  stated  at  least  percent- 
ically,  the  number  of  trees  to  be  present,  their 
average  height  and  diameter,  and  other  similar  in- 
formation. For  illustration  such  a  table  will  be 
found  in  the  Appendix. 


l6o  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

While  in  our  natural  unmanaged  woods  the  final 
useful  crop,  which  usually  has  accumulated  over  200 
years  before  it  is  considered  fit  for  harvest,  rarely 
*  exceeds  8000  cubic  feet,  in  the  managed  German 
spruce  forest,  fully  covering  the  ground,  from  which 
all  useless  species  are  eradicated,  we  may  find  at 
30  years  over  3000  cubic  feet  of  wood,  more  than 
three  times  that  amount  at  60  years,  and  at  100 
years  14,000  cubic  feet  of  timber  wood,  having  pro- 
duced at  the  rate  of  70  cubic  feet  during  the  first 
two  decades,  at  the  rate  of  240  cubic  feet  in  the 
third  decade,  reaching  its  maximum  with  267  cubic 
feet  in  the  fourth  decade,  declining  after  this  dec- 
ade so  that  in  the  ninth  decade  the  rate  may  be 
only  100  cubic  feet  per  year,  and  at  100  years  the 
average  rate  for  the  whole  period  has  become  only 
140  cubic  feet.  On  poorer  soils  much  less,  down 
to  one-half,  of  this  production  may  be  expected,  and 
with  other  species,  of  course,  the  general  progress 
of  accretion  and  final  result  must  differ ;  yet  there 
is  a  remarkable  regularity,  a  law  of  accretion  ob- 
servable in  all  conditions,  upon  which  an  analysis  of 
the  assiduously  gathered  data  lets  in  a  flood  of  Hght. 
While  the  natural  forest,  if  not  interfered  with 
by  man  or  by  accident  such  as  fire,  would  follow, 
of  course,  the  same  laws,  yet  practically  the  result 
is  a  different  one,  because  the  economic  point  of 
view  is  left  out,  and  tree  weeds  are  mixed  with 
the  valuable  species,  thus  naturally  reducing  the 
amount  of  tisefid  production. 


NATURAL   HISTORY    OF   THE    FOREST.      l6l 

But  if  we  take  the  small  stands  here  and  there 
which  occur  in  nature's  forest,  grown  under  similar 
premises  as  those  of  the  tables,  we  will  find,  as 
would  be  expected,  the  same  results ;  the  stand 
has  developed  in  the  manner  indicated  by  the 
tables. 

These  tables  of  normal  forest  yield  can  serve 
us  as  a  goal  which  may  be  gained  by  a  proper 
forest  management,  when  the  useful  product  of 
nature's  forest  can  be  trebled  and  quadrupled. 

To  illustrate  the  economic  and  practical  value  of 
the  laws  deduced  from  these  tables  we  may  state 
only  a  few  of  them.  The  so-called  rapid  growers, 
i.e.  those  trees  which  have  a  rapid  height  growth 
in  their  youth,  are,  in  the  end,  not  the  largest  pro- 
ducers, if  stout  sizes  are  desired ;  the  persistent 
growers,  i.e.  mostly  the  shade-enduring  trees,  pro- 
duce relatively  more  in  the  long  run.  Hence,  the 
rapid-growing  aspen,  which  is  near  the  end  of  its 
Hfe  at  80  years,  may  have  then  produced  at  best 
7600  cubic  feet  to  the  acre,  while  the  shady,  slower, 
but  persistent  spruce  has,  by  that  time,  accumu- 
lated over  12,000  cubic  feet,  and  is  still  growing 
at  the  rate  of  over  80  cubic  feet  per  year. 

On  good  sites  and  with  rapid-growing  species, 
the  culmination  of  the  rate  of  volume  growth 
occurs  earher  than  under  opposite  conditions,  and 
then  declines  more  rapidly,  influencing,  therefore, 
the  most  opportune  time  for  harvest.  For  the 
Scotch  pine  the  highest  rate  of  production  may  be 


l62  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

found  on  good  sites  between  the  twentieth  and  for- 
tieth year,  with  over  i6o  cubic  feet  per  acre,  and 
on  poorer  sites  a  decade  later;  while  the  slow- 
growing  beech  shows  its  culmination  between  the 
fiftieth  and  seventieth  year,  with  190  cubic  feet 
per  acre. 

In  general,  the  volume  of  a  stand  progresses 
much  more  slowly  than  that  of  a  single  tree,  and 
much  more  regularly,  since  it  expresses  all  the 
variable  conditions.  It  is  a  matter  of  simple 
mathematical  demonstration  that  the  maximum 
average  accretion  occurs  when  it  is  equal  to  the 
current  accretion,  i.e.  equal  to  the  accretion  of  the 
particular  year.  In  other  words,  when  the  accre- 
tion which  has  occurred  through  a  series  of  years, 
divided  by  the  number  of  years,  happens  to  be  as 
large  as  the  accretion  of  the  current  year,  the  high- 
est average  production  per  acre  and  year  has  been 
attained.  This  occurs  mostly  before  the  fiftieth 
year  with  light-needing  species  and  on  good  sites, 
later  on  poor  sites  and  with  shade-enduring  species, 
but,  to  be  sure,  the  value  accretion,  which  depends 
upon  the  amount  of  large-sized  material,  culminates 
very  much  later. 

If  a  group  of  some  hundred  trees  have  grown 
together  in  dense  stand,  they  develop  so  regularly 
and  interdependently  that  the  following  relations 
will  prevail :  the  contents  of  the  average  tree  will 
be  found  to  equal  very  nearly  one-tenth  of  the  vol- 
ume of  the  three  stoutest  and  the  seven  slimmest 


NATURAL   HISTORY    OF   THE   FOREST.     163 

trees  which  participate  in  the  upper  crown  level, 
and  the  volume  of  the  whole  stand  may  then  be 
closely  approximated  by  multiplying  this  amount 
by  the  number  of  trees  involved  : 

(vol.ofstand  =  ;.x3"^^--^-  +  7min.> 

If  the  trees  are  arranged  in  size-classes  from  the 
stoutest  down,  the  average  tree  will  be  found  to 
be  at  about  40  per  cent  from  the  stoutest.  For 
instance,  in  500  trees,  the  200th  tree,  counting  from 
the  stoutest,  will  be  the  average  tree.  Moreover,  if 
these  trees  arranged  in  size-classes  are  divided  into 
five  groups,  the  first  fifth  will  contain  40  per  cent 
of  the  total  volume,  the  second  fifth  24  per  cent, 
the  third  17  per  cent,  the  fourth  12  per  cent,  and 
the  last,  the  slimmest,  will  represent  only  7  per 
cent  of  the  total  volume  of  all  the  trees. 

These  interesting  deductions  from  the  yield 
tables,  which  could  be  multiplied,  are  cited  merely 
to  impress  upon  the  reader  the  fact  that  the  forest 
grows  under  the  influence  of  recognizable  laws, 
just  as  the  single  tree  does.  If  we  differentiate 
the  volume  into  the  different  sizes  of  material, 
logs  of  given  diameter,  cords  of  certain  character, 
etc.,  expressed  in  quantities  or  relative  proportions, 
and  apply  market  prices,  we  can  come  to  a  concep- 
tion of  the  value  accretion  of  a  stand  at  any  par- 
ticular time,  and  then  can  discuss  upon  a  tangible 
basis  the  results  of  a  forest  management  which 
may  change  at  will  the  growth  conditions  and  de- 


l64  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

velopment   of    a   forest   stand    to    secure    certain 
results  in  a  given  time. 

Instead  of  computing  total  quantities,  we  can 
express  the  relationships  in  percentic  proportions, 
conceiving  the  stand  of  trees  as  a  capital,  and  the 
accretion  as  the  interest  on  such  capital,  and  speak 
of  the  accretion  per  cent  as  basis  for  the  more  com- 
plicated finance  calculations. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

METHODS    OF    FOREST    CROP    PRODUCTION: 
SILVICULTURE. 

There  is  nothing  that  needs  to  be  more  strongly 
emphasized  and  impressed  upon  the  American 
public,  and  even  upon  the  young  professional  for- 
ester, than  that  the  main  business  of  the  forester 
is  expressed  in  the  one  word  "  reproduction  "  ;  his 
main  obligation  is  the  replacement  of  the  crop 
he  has  harvested,  whether  produced  by  unaided 
nature  or  otherwise,  by  as  good,  if  not  a  better 
crop  of  timber  than  he  found. 

Silviculture,  the  technique  of  the  growing  of 
wood-crops,  a  branch  of  the  broader  subject  of 
arboriculture,  is  the  pivot  upon  which  the  whole 
forestry  business  turns. 

As  the  farmer  sows  and  reaps,  so  the  forester 
harvests  and  replaces,  although  the  methods  of  the 
two  have  little  in  common.  Nor  are  the  methods 
employed  in  other  arboricultural  pursuits  applica- 
ble, such  as  the  orchardist  uses  where  the  fruit  is 
the  object,  or  the  landscape  gardener,  who  looks 
for  aesthetic  effect,  or  the  roadside  planter,  who 
desires  the  shade. 

i6s 


l66  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

The  tree  which  satisfies  these  arboriculturists 
does  not  at  all  satisfy  the  requirements  of  the 
forester,  for  his  point  of  view,  his  aim,  is  a  different 
one  and  hence  his  methods  are  his  own.  In  fact, 
single  trees  are  not  his  object  any  more  than  the 
single  grass  blade  is  the  object  of  the  farmer;  the 
largest  amount  of  wood  in  the  most  salable  or 
profitable  form  is  his  aim,  logs  rather  than  trees, 
and  the  financial  results  from  their  harvest.  The 
final  aim  of  the  silviculturist  is,  therefore,  attained 
only  when  he  has  removed  the  old  trees  and  re- 
placed them  by  a  young  crop.  He  grows  trees  in 
masses  and  for  their  substance.  Not  only  does  he 
deal  with  trees  in  masses,  but  with  trees  in  natural 
conditions,  being  by  financial  considerations  often 
limited  in  the  use  of  artificial  aids  and  methods, 
such  as  the  other  arboriculturists  and  the  farmer 
in  his  crop  production  may  employ. 

Restricted  as  he  is,  or  finally  will  be,  to  the  poorer 
soils  and  conditions,  those  least  favorable  to  agri- 
cultural production,  he  is  forced  to  the  most  con- 
servative management  of  the  natural  conditions 
in  order  to  secure  a  desirable  result  without  too 
much  expenditure,  which  his  long-maturing  crop 
cannot  repay. 

The  simplest  method  of  harvesting  the  crop  of 
nature  and  replacing  it  is  to  cut  clean  or  clear  the 
ground  and  plant  or  sow  the  new  crop,  the  farmer's 
method.  This  is  called  "artificial  reproduction"  or 
"  reforestation,"  and  is  largely  practised  in  Europe. 


SILVICULTURE.  167 

It  is,  of  course,  the  only  method  applicable  where 
the  forest  crop  is  to  be  started  anew  on  abandoned 
fields,  on  the  forestless  prairies  and  plains,  on  the 
burnt  areas  which  have  grown  up  to  useless 
brush,  in  short,  where  no  old  crop  of  desirable 
species  is  on  the  ground.  Where  an  old  crop  of 
desirable  kinds  is  already  on  the  ground,  the  same 
method  of  clearing  followed  by  artificial  reforesta- 
tion may  be  employed,  but  there  is  also  a  choice 
of  producing  the  new  crop  by  seeds  falling  from 
the  trees  of  the  old  crop,  by  "natural  regen- 
eration." 

This  method  is  the  one  by  which  nature  main- 
tains the  forest.  As  trees  grow  old,  decay,  and 
fall,  an  opening  is  made  into  which  the  neighbor- 
ing trees  throw  their  seeds  and  fill  up  the  gap  with 
a  new  seedling  growth.  The  forester  profits  from 
this  observation,  and  with  the  recognition  of  the 
laws  under  which  forest  growth  develops,  as 
detailed  in  the  preceding  chapter,  he  gives  merely 
direction  to  this  development  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  reduce  the  unfavorable  and  increase  the  favor- 
able conditions  of  development  for  whatever  kinds 
he  may  desire  to  propagate,  avoiding  the  use  of 
the  planting  tool,  and  managing  to  secure  the 
reproduction  and  development  of  the  young  crop 
by  the  mere  use  of  the  axe  in  the  old  crop.  But 
he  uses  the  axe  differently  from  the  lumberman. 

The  lumberman,  the  first  exploiter  of  the  mixed 
virgin  forest,  treats  it  like  a  mine  from  which  he 


l68  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

takes  the  pay  ore,  culling  the  best  kinds  and  cuts, 
and  abandoning  the  rest  to  its  fate,  which  is 
usually  made  hazardous  by  fires  running  through 
the  forest,  fed  by  the  debris  he  has  left. 

If  these  fires  have  not  killed  the  remaining 
growth,  he  may  come  back  after  a  few  years,  and 
may  find  some  of  the  smaller  trees  of  the  useful 
kinds,  which  he  had  left  standing,  grown  to  such  a 
size  as  will  pay  to  cut  and  transport  to  market ;  these 
he  calls  "  second  growth."  Possibly  he  may  re- 
peat this  culling  process  several  times ;  but  finally 
the  desirable  kinds  are  cut  out,  and  there  is  left  a 
growth  of  undesirable  kinds,  of  weeds  which  he 
has  helped  in  their  struggle  with  their  rivals  of 
useful  kinds,  by  the  removal  of  the  latter. 

Meanwhile,  wherever  an  opening  is  made  by  the 
cutting  of  trees,  seeds  from  the  neighboring  growth 
fall  to  the  ground  and  sprout,  giving  rise  to  some 
aftergrowth,  but  this  is  apt  to  be  preponderantly 
of  the  undesirable  kinds  which  were  left ;  more- 
over, this  young  growth  under  the  shade  of  the 
old  trees,  being  deprived  of  the  desirable  amount 
of  light,  develops  slowly  and  poorly.  As  a  result 
of  these  operations,  then,  not  only  thQ  present  com- 
position of  the  growth  is  deteriorated,  but  also  its 
future.  Thus,  in  Kentucky,  where  the  valuable 
white  oak  used  to  form  40  per  cent  of  the  forest,  the 
aftergrowth  contains  hardly  5  per  cent ;  and  in 
Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota,  where  the 
white  pine  has  been  culled  out  severely,  its  absence 


SILVICULTURE.  169 

in  the  young  growth  has  led  to  the  curious  belief 
among  lumbermen  that  it  does  not  propagate  itself 
by  seed. 

The  forester,  on  the  other  hand,  treats  the  forest 
as  a  permanent  investment  and  as  a  crop.  All  his 
operations  keep  in  mind  continuity  and  permanency 
for  the  future.  Reproduction  not  only,  but  repro- 
duction of  the  most  useful  kinds  ^  and  superior 
quality  is  his  aim. 

The  forester,  instead  of  culling  out  the  best  kinds 
first,  as  the  lumberman  does,  would  take  out  the 
undesirable  ones  first,  and  thus  improve  the  com- 
position of  his  crop.  The  material  which  results 
from  these  so-called  "  improvement  cuttings  "  may 
sometimes  not  directly  pay  for  the  labor  spent  on 
them,  but  they  are  cultural  operations,  designed 
to  put  the  property  in  more  useful  condition  for 
the  future,  and  hence  they  are  at  least  indirectly 
profitable. 

When  in  this  way  the  desirable  kinds  have  been 
given  the  advantage  (or  sometimes  simultaneously 
with  the  improvement  cuttings),  a  gradual  removal 
of  these  takes  place,  either  of  single  individuals  here 
and  there,  or  of  groups  of  them,  making  larger  or 
smaller  openings  ;  or  else  more  or  less  broad  strips 
are  cleared,  on  which  the  seed  falling  from  the 
remaining  neighboring  growth  can  find  lodgement, 

1  Of  the  nearly  500  species  native  to  our  country,  only  about  70 
furnish  wood  of  sufficient  size  and  quality  to  deserve  the  attention 

of  the  forester. 


\yo  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

and  sprout ;  and,  as  the  young  seedlings  require 
more  light  for  their  development,  gradually  more 
of  the  older  timber  is  removed,  or  the  openings  are 
enlarged  for  new  crops  of  young  growth,  and  thus 
the  reproduction  is  secured  gradually,  while  har- 
vesting the  old  crop. 

Finally,  when  the  last  stick  of  old  timber  has 
been  removed  —  and  in  a  well-developed  forestry 
system  every  stick  is  expected  to  be  utilized  — 
a  young  growth  composed  as  far  as  possible  only 
of  the  more  useful  kinds  has  taken  the  place  of 
the  virgin  forest,  to  grow  until  it  becomes  profit- 
able to  harvest  again,  when  the  same  methods  will 
secure  another  reproduction,  and  so  on. 

To  be  sure,  these  operations  are  not  quite  so 
simple  as  they  appear  from  this  statement,  for 
considerable  knowledge  of  the  requirements  of 
each  species  and  judgment  of  the  needs  of  the 
young  crop  for  its  best  development  are  needed  to 
secure  a  successful  regeneration,  two  requisites 
secured  by  study  and  experience,  which,  for  Amer- 
ican species  and  conditions,  are  still  lacking  to  a 
large  extent. 

The  progress  and  manner  in  which  the  natural  re- 
generation by  seed  is  secured  give  rise  to  variously 
named  methods  and  to  various  results  in  the  ap- 
pearance and  development  of  the  young  crop ;  but 
in  all  of  these  so-called  natural  regeneration  meth- 
ods the  young  crop  is  secured  by  seed  falling  from 
the  mother  trees  on  or  near  the  ground  to  be  re- 


SILVICULTURE.  171 

cuperated,  and  the  old  crop  is  removed  more  or 
less  gradually,  to  make  room  for  the  young  crop, 
the  main  difference  being  in  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  old  crop  is  removed. 

The  choice  of  method  depends  upon  financial 
as  well  as  silvicultural  considerations. 

In  protection  forests  and  luxury  forests,  in  which 
the  financial  questions  become  secondary  and  the 
requirement  of  a  continuous  soil  cover  may  be 
paramount,  the  choice  of  method  is  circumscribed 
by  this  consideration.  Here,  methods  in  which  the 
old  crop  is  very  slowly  removed  and  replaced  by 
the  new  crop  are  indicated,  even  if  financial  and 
silvicultural  results  would  make  other  methods 
desirable. 

In  supply  forests,  the  cheapest  method  which 
secures  desirable  proportionate  results  in  the  crop 
is  to  be  chosen.  This  must  vary  according  to 
local  conditions.  Chmate,  soil,  and  species  to  be 
dealt  with  call  for  silvicultural  considerations ;  the 
relative  cost  of  planting  and  of  logging  or  harvest- 
ing under  different  methods  influence  the  financial 
results. 

The  clearing  process__fo]lowed  by  artificial  re- 
placement entails  a  money  outlay  for  the  latter 
from  year  to  year ;  the  gradual  removal  methods 
with  natural  seeding  avoid,  to  be  sure,  this  outlay, 
but,  since  to  secure  the  same  amount  of  harvest,  a 
larger  territory  must  be  cut  over,  they  entail  large 
initial  investment  for  means  of  transportation,  which 


172  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

must  be  maintained  for  ^11  the  years  of  removal, 
and  they  occasion  also  otherwise  greater  expenses 
in  the  harvest  than  the  concentrated  logging  in  the 
clearing  system,  which  may  be  done  over  tempo- 
rary roads.  Where,  as  in  Germany,  most  forest 
districts  are  provided  with  well-built  permanent 
road  systems,  gradual  removal  methods  are  often 
probably  the  least  expensive ;  but  in  the  United 
States,  in  most  places,  unless  water  transportation 
can  be  relied  upon,  a  gradual  removal  system 
means  heavy  initial  outlays  for  roads,  which  may 
make  the  clearing  followed  by  planting  the  cheaper 
method.  It  is  in  most  conditions  also  the  surer ; 
for  a  complete  success  of  the  young  crop  can,  in 
most  cases,  be  forced.  In  the  natural  regeneration 
methods  there  are  elements  of  uncertainty,  the  seed 
years  may  not  come  when  expected ;  in  a  mixed 
forest,  which,  for  many  reasons,  is  the  most  desira- 
ble form,  the  species  seed  irregularly,  have  different 
requirements  of  light,  so  that  the  composition  can- 
not be  very  well  controlled ;  the  damage  and  loss 
occasioned  in  the  young  crop  by  the  removal  of 
the  old  crop  must  be  discounted  in  the  final  result ; 
and  besides,  where  the  removal  is  very  slow,  the 
young  crop  is  impeded  in  its  development  bv  the  -^^ 
shade  of  the  old  crop.  These  systems,  tfteretore, 
are  better  adapted  to  shade-enduring  species  than 
to  light-needing.  The  main  argument  and  the 
most  important  in  favor  of  these  methods  is  that 
they  furnish  protection  to  the  soil,  preventing  its 


SILVICULTURE.  1 73 

deterioration  under  the  influence  of  sun  and  wind, 
to  which  the  soil  is  liable  in  a  clearing  system,  and 
giving  also  protection  to  the  tender  seedlings  of 
such  species  as  are  subject  to  frost  or  drought. 
Under  such  conditions,  therefore,  i.e.  where  pro- 
tection of  soil  and  young  crop  are  necessary,  the 
gradual  removal  methods  will  be  chosen. 

Over  80  per  cent  of  the  forests  of  Germany  are 
managed  under  a  clearing  system  and  rapid 
removal  systems,  and  only  20  per  cent  under  slow 
removal  and  other  systems. 

Where,  as  in  our  culled  forests,  the  valuable 
species  have  been  removed  and  the  weed  trees 
have  been  left  in  possession,  it  stands  to  reason 
that  no  natural  regeneration  method  will  reestab- 
lish the  better  species ;  they  must  be  restored  by 
artificial  means.  Finally,  where  conditions  per- 
mit, a  combination  of  natural  and  artificial  methods 
may  be  resorted  to  in  order  to  secure  the  best 
result. 

The  crudest,  least  intensive  method  is  an  im- 
provement on  the  method  of  the  lumberman, 
who  culls  the  best  trees  here  and  there,  the 
so-called  method  of  selection.  The  improvement 
over  the  lumberman's  practice,  who  is  concerned 
only  in  the  removal  of  the  useful  timber,  consists 
in  looking  somewhat  after  the  fate  of  the  young 
growth,  protecting  it  against  competing  species, 
giving  it  light  as  soon  as  practicable  by  further 
culling,  and  improving  the  composition  by  reduc- 


174  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

ing  the  weed  trees  and  also  leaving  more  seed 
trees. 

The  result  is  a  forest  in  which  all  ages  and 
sizes  are  scattered  over  the  entire  area,  coming 
nearest  to  the  conditions  of  nature. 

This  system,  in  which  the  young  crop  has  a 
poor  chance  to  develop,  and  which  is  applicable 
to  shade-enduring  species  only,  is  recommended 
for  protective  forest  areas.  In  Germany  it  is 
applied  only  on  small  areas  and  on  the  steepest 
slopes,  less  than  lo  per  cent  of  the  German  forest 
area  being  managed  under  it,  and  in  the  Prussian 
state  forests,  less  than  ^  per  cent. 

The  continuous  soil  cover,  to  be  sure,  is  a 
feature  which  is  its  greatest  recommendation, 
but  this  is  secured  at  great  expense  and  loss  in 
accretion. 

To  permit  a  better  chance  for  the  young  growth, 
the  so-called  "  group  method  "  has  been  lately  de- 
vised, in  which  not  single  trees,  but  groups  of 
trees,  are  removed  and  the  opening  is  expected 
to  be  seeded  by  the  neighboring  trees.  From 
time  to  time,  as  soon  as  the  young  growth  is  well 
established,  the  opening  is  enlarged  and  additions 
of  young  growth  secured  in  the  form  of  an  irregular 
ring  or  band  around  that  of  preceding  years. 

An  older  method,  similar  to  the  last,  consists  in 
making  the  opening  in  the  form  of  a  narrow  strip 
at  right  angles  to  the  prevailing  winds,  and  as  the 
ground  is  seeded  to  clear  a  new  strip  toward  the 


SILVICULTURE. 


175 


windward  side.  This  "strip  method,"  just  as  any 
method  which  relies  upon  the  seed  furnished  by  a 
neighboring  growth,  is  more  successful  with  those 
kinds  which  have  light-winged  seeds,  easily  carried 
by  the  winds  over  the  area  to  be  seeded,  and  which 
do  not  require  any  protection  in  their  infantile 
stage.  It  is  a  method  which,  on  account  of  the 
greater  concentration  in  harvest,  is  probably  advis- 
able in  many  cases  in  the  United  States. 

For  heavy-seeded  kinds  like  oaks,  beech,  hick- 
ories, and  other  nut  trees,  the  more  complicated 
method  of  "  regeneration  under  shelter  wood  or 
nurse  trees"  becomes  necessary  ;  this  consists  in  a 
series  of  severe  preparatory  thinnings  of  the  old 
crop  which  is  to  be  reproduced,  beginning  a  year  or 
more  before  the  time  when  a  full  seed  crop  is  to  be 
expected,  seed  years  recurring  more  or  less  period- 
ically. These  preparatory  thinnings  are  made  for 
the  purpose  of  exposing  the  soil  to  atmospheric 
influences,  which  hasten  the  decomposition  of  the 
litter,  thereby  securing  a  serviceable  seed  bed. 
Enough  trees  of  the  kind  to  be  reproduced  are 
left  on  the  ground  to  secure  full  seeding  and 
shelter  and  protection  of  the  young  crop.  When 
the  latter  has  come  up,  the  nurse  trees  are  gradually 
removed  to  give  the  young  seedlings  the  required 
light.  The  whole  operation,  until  the  last  nurse 
trees  are  removed  and  the  young  crop  is  established, 
may  take  from  three  to  ten  and  more  years,  accord- 
ing to  kinds,  soil  conditions,  climate,  and  success 


1/6  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

in  securing  the  seeding.  The  greatest  nicety  of 
judgment  is  required  to  direct  these  operations, 
taking  into  account  the  requirements  of  the  species 
and  the  conditions  and  progress  of  development  of 
the  young  crop. 

To  secure  a  full  crop  by  this  natural  method 
often  requires,  not  only  careful  manipula,tion,  but 
patient  waiting  for  years,  since  trees  do  not  bear 
seed  every  year  and  the  young  crop  may  from  this 
or  other  causes  fail  to  establish  itself  wholly  or  in 
part,  when  another  seed  year  must  be  awaited,  or 
the  "fail"  places  filled  out  artificially  by  planting. 

The  artificial  reforestation  may  be  made  either 
by  sowing  the  seed  or  by  transplanting  seedlings 
secured  from  nurseries  or  from  the  woods.  This 
planting  or  sowing  is  done  after  more  or  less  care- 
ful preparation  of  the  soil,  the  preparation  and 
manner  of  planting  depending  on  soil  conditions, 
species,  and  financial  considerations. 

Simple  and  effective  as  these  artificial  methods 
are,  there  are  certain  dangers  connected  with  them, 
which  follow  their  injudicious  application.  The 
exposure  of  the  soil  may  lead  to  its  deterioration, 
the  sun-warmed  areas  are  apt  to  breed  insects,  the 
standing  timber,  exposed  to  sweeping  winds,  may 
be  thrown  when  the  opening  is  large. 

Where  in  a  natural  seeding  a  hundred  thousand 
seedlings  would  cover  the  soil  and  quickly  replace 
the  shelter  removed  in  the  old  growth,  economy 
will    permit    the  planting  of  only  a  few  thousand 


SILVICULTURE.  1 77 

(usually  2500-5000  per  acre),  and  it  requires  years 
before  the  crowns  of  the  young  growth  close  up  to 
shade  the  ground  thoroughly,  meanwhile  weeds  and 
grass  sapping  its  strength  and  retarding  the  devel- 
opment of  the  crop.  Nevertheless,  by  a  judicious 
application,  making  the  openings  small,  utilizing  the 
shelter  of  some  left-over  trees  for  partial  protection, 
increasing  the  number  of  plants,  or  sowing  a  cheap 
nurse  crop,  these  dangers  may  be  avoided. 

Theoretically,  however,  the  regeneration  under 
shelter  wood  with  a  short  period  of  removal  is  con- 
sidered the  most  efficient. 

While  all  these  methods  rely  upon  a  reproduc- 
tion of  the  new  crop  by  seed,  directly  or  indirectly, 
there  is  another  mode  of  reproduction  possible, 
owing  to  the  capacity  of  some  trees  to  reproduce 
new  parts  from  buds,  forming  shoots  from  the 
stumps  after  the  old  tree  is  cut.  These  stool 
shoots,  or  sprouts,  grow  into  trees,  and  by  the 
mere  harvest  of  the  old  crop,  the  new  crop  is  se- 
cured. This,  in  turn,  may  be  cut,  and  the  stump 
will  produce  again  and  again  new  sprouts.  This 
simplest  and  crudest  system  of  reproduction,  called 
"  coppicCj"  which  results  involuntarily  when  the 
old  hardwoods  are  cut,  is  applicable  only  to  the 
broad-leaved  trees  which  are  capable  of  producing 
valuable  shoots  in  this  manner ;  the  coniferous 
trees,  like  pines,  spruces,  etc.,  are  practically  ex- 
cluded, although  some  possess  the  capacity  of 
sprouting  in  inferior  degree. 


1/8  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

Even  in  broad-leaved  trees  the  capacity  foi 
sprouting  is  possessed  in  different  degree  by  the 
different  species,  and  is  more  or  less  lost  by  all  in 
old  age ;  and  especially  after  repeated  harvests  the 
stumps  become  exhausted  and  die,  so  that  the 
forest  is  apt  gradually  to  deteriorate  in  compo- 
sition as  well  as  in  density,  unless  fresh  blood  is 
added  by  reproduction  from  seed. 

Thus  in  Pennsylvania,  where  the  system  has 
been  in  vogue  for  a  century  and  more  to  furnish 
charcoal  for  the  iron  furnaces,  the  valuable  white 
oaks  and  hickories  have  been  crowded  out  by  the 
chestnut,  which  is  a  superior  sprouter ;  similarly, 
in  Massachusetts  the  inferior  white  birch  replaces 
the  more  valuable  kinds  in  the  coppice,  as  their 
stocks  weaken  and  fall  a  prey  to  rot. 

Another  disadvantage  of  this  coppice  system 
under  which  the  woodlands  of  deciduous  trees  in 
almost  all  New  England  and  the  Atlantic  States 
are  reproduced  is  that,  although  the  sprouts  de- 
velop much  faster  than  the  seedlings  from  the 
start,  they  soon  fall  off  in  their  growth,  and  are 
capable  merely  of  furnishing  small  dimensions 
and  fire  wood.  The  coppice,  therefore,  is  useful 
only  for  certain  purposes,  but  cannot  be  relied 
upon  to  furnish  material  for  the  great  lumber 
market. 

The  deterioration  consequent  to  the  continued 
application  of  the  coppice  is  best  studied  in  Italy 
and  in  certain  parts  of  France,  where  serviceable 


SILVICULTURE.  179 

timber  is  almost  unknown,  and  fagots  of  small 
fire  wood  are  precious  articles. 

To  avoid  this  objection  a  mixed  system  has  been 
practised,  by  which  part  of  the  crop  (the  so-called 
standards) is  allowed  to  grow  up  and  be  reproduced 
by  seed,  while  the  other  part  is  treated  as  coppice ; 
but  in  this  so-called  standard-coppice  (Ger.  Mittcl- 
zvald,  Fr.  taillis  compose^  the  standards,  unimpeded 
in  their  branch  development,  do  not  form  service- 
able trunks,  and  in  addition,  by  their  shade  injure 
the  coppice  growth. 

While,  then,  these  methods  are  of  limited  use, 
the  only  method  of  reproducing  the  forest  which 
is  to  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  supply  of  the  enormous 
quantities  of  saw  timber  required  in  the  markets 
is  the  so-called  timber  forest,  the  high  forest,  Hoch- 
wald  of  the  Germans,  or  futaie  of  the  French, 
which  is  reproduced  by  seed,  and  grows  to  full 
size  and  maturity,  to  be  again  so  reproduced. 

As  in  the  natural  methods  the  axe  is  the  only 
tool  which  is  used  to  secure  the  regeneration,  so  is 
the  axe  the  only  tool  which  cultivates  the  young 
crop,  such  cultivation  consisting  in  the  judicious 
removal  of  surplus  trees  by  the  so-called  thinnings, 
by  which  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  crop  is 
increased.  To  understand  this,  it  is  necessary  to 
know  that  trees  form  wood  by  the  function  of  the 
foliage  under  the  influence  of  Hght. 

Hence  a  tree  with  much  foliage  and  unimpeded 
access  of  light   is   bound   to   make   much   wood. 


l80  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

These  conditions  are  fulfilled  when  the  tree  is 
allowed  to  grow  in  open  stand,  as  on  a  lawn, 
without  close  neighbors,  who  would  cut  off  some 
of  the  light  supply. 

But  trees  under  such  conditions  grow  mostly 
into  branches,  the  crown  being  developed  at  the 
expense  of  the  bole,  which  remains  short  and 
more  or  less  conical  in  shape,  of  little  commercial 
or  technical  use,  except  for  firewood ;  when  the 
trunk  is  sawn  into  boards  every  branch  appears 
as  a  defect,  known  as  a  knot,  which  makes  it  unfit 
for  use  in  the  better  class  of  work,  and  thus,  while 
the  total  quantity  of  wood  in  the  tree  is  increased 
by  the  open  stand,  it  is  done  at  the  expense  of 
quality. 

The  object  of  the  forester,  however,  is  not  sim- 
ply to  grow  wood,  but  to  produce  wood  of  such 
form  and  quality  as  is  useful  in  the  arts.  The 
ideal  tree  for  him  is  one  with  a  long,  cylindrical, 
branchless  trunk,  bearing  its  crown  high  up,  which 
when  cut  into  lumber  produces  the  largest  amount 
of  material  clear  of  knots,  of  straight  fibre,  and 
giving  the  least  amount  of  waste  or  fire  wood. 

His  aim,  therefore,  must  be  to  so  place  his  trees 
that,  while  the  largest  possible  amount  of  wood 
shall  be  produced,  it  shall  be  deposited  in  the  most 
useful  form  also. 

By  a  close  position,  when  each  tree  cuts  off  the 
side  light  from  the  neighbor,  the  formation  of 
branches  is  prevented,  or  the  branches  which  were 


SILVICULTURE.  l8l 

formed,  being  overshadowed,  soon  lose  their  vital- 
ity, die,  and  finally  break  off,  leaving  the  shaft 
smooth,  and,  if  this  clearing  was  effected  before 
the  branches  had  reached  considerable  size,  the 
amount  of  clear  lumber  is  increased. 

But  again,  if  the  trees  are  kept  too  close,  if  too 
many  trees  are  allowed  to  grow  on  the  acre,  each 
one  having  the  smallest  amount  of  foliage  and 
light  at  its  disposal,  the  amount  of  wood  produced 
by  the  acre  may  be  fully  as  large  as  it  is  capable 
of  producing,  but  it  is  distributed  over  so  many 
individuals  that  each  develops  at  the  very  slowest 
rate,  and  hence  does  not  grow  to  useful  size  in  the 
shortest  time. 

To  secure  his  object,  producing  the  largest 
amount  per  acre  of  the  most  useful  wood  in  the 
shortest  time,  the  forester  must  know  what  number 
of  trees  to  permit  to  grow,  so  as  to  balance  the 
advantages  and  disadvantages  of  close  and  open 
position. 

This  number  differs  not  only  according  to  the 
species  composing  his  crop,  but  also  according 
to  soil  and  climatic  conditions  and  to  the  age  of 
the  crop,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding 
chapter. 

Some  trees,  having  considerable  capacity  of 
enduring  shade,  Hke  the  beech,  sugar  maple,  or 
spruce,  may  require  many  more  individuals  to  the 
acre  than  the  more  Hght-needing  oaks  or  pines ; 
on    richer    soils    fewer    individuals    will    produce 


l82  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

satisfactory  results,  when  on  poorer  soils  more 
individuals  must  be  kept  on  the  acre.  The  ques- 
tion of  the  proper  number  of  trees  to  be  allowed 
to  grow  per  acre  at  different  ages  is  one  of  the 
most  difficult,  on  which  practitioners  differ  widely. 
In  general,  however,  the  practitioner  has  recog- 
nized the  necessity  of  preserving  a  dense  position 
for  the  first  twenty  to  thirty  years  of  the  young 
crop,  sacrificing  quantitative  development  to  quality 
and  form.  The  close  stand  secures  the  long, 
branchless,  cylindrical  trunk,  which  furnishes  the 
clear  saw-logs  of  greatest  value.  Then,  when  the 
maximum  rate  of  height  growth  has  been  attained, 
a  more  or  less  severe  thinning  is  indicated,  in 
order  to  secure  quantitative  development,  and 
these  thinnings  are  repeated  periodically,  to  give 
more  light  as  the  crowns  close  up,  and  also  to 
utilize  such  of  the  trees  as  are  falling  behind  in 
this  wood  production. 

As  a  result  of  judicious  thinnings,  the  rate  at 
which  the  remaining  crop  develops  may  be  doubled 
and  quadrupled,  the  heavy,  more  valuable  sizes  are 
made  in  shorter  time,  and,  where  the  inferior  mate- 
rial removed  in  the  thinnings  is  salable,  a  much 
larger  total  product  is  in  the  end  secured  from  the 
acre,  for  many  of  the  trees  which  were  removed 
and  utilized  would  have  died,  fallen,  and  decayed 
in  the  natural  struggle  for  existence. 

In  German  forest  management  the  amount  util- 
ized in  thinnings  amounts  to  25  per  cent  and  more 
of  the  final  harvest  yield. 


SILVICULTURE.  183 

Other  considerations  also  influence  these  opera- 
tions, such  as  the  preservation  of  soil  moisture, 
which  is  the  most  essential  contribution  of  the  soil 
to  tree  growth,  and  which  requires  the  soil  to  be 
kept  shaded. 

In  fact,  there  is  nothing  that  a  forester  guards  so 
jealously,  next  to  the  light  conditions  at  the  crown, 
as  the  soil  conditions :  a  soil  cover  free  of  weeds 
and  grass,  and  covered  as  amply  as  possible  with  a 
heavy  mulch  of  decaying  leaves  and  twigs,  and  if 
this  best  protection  of  the  soil  moisture  be  defi- 
cient, a  cover  of  shrubby  undergrowth  which  re- 
quires less  water  than  weeds  and  grass  —  this  is 
the  character  of  a  desirable  forest  floor. 

Altogether  it  will  have  appeared  that  the  entire 
silvicultural  requirements  of  the  crop  resolve  them- 
selves into  one,  namely,  proper  management  of 
light  conditions,  which  is  secured  by  the  judicious 
use  of  the  axe. 

While  in  field  crops  it  is  customary  to  grow  only 
single  species,  in  pure  stands,  the  forester  has  dis- 
covered that,  as  a  rule,  not  only  better  results,  both 
in  quantity  and  quality,  but  better  protection  of 
soil  conditions  and  especially  safety  against  many 
dangers  from  insects,  frosts,  and  storms,  etc.,  can 
be  secured  by  mixed  plantations,  and  hence  he 
gives  preference  to  mixed  crops,  although  such 
crops,  composed  of  several  species,  require  more 
skill  in  their  management. 

While  the  crop  is  developing,  it  is,  of   course, 


l84  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

necessary  to  protect  it  against  damage  of  various 
kinds.  The  young  seedlings  of  some  species  are 
apt  to  suffer  from  frost  or  drouth,  which  is  avoided 
by  growing  them  under  shelter  of  older  trees, 
by  draining  wet  places,  securing  opportunity  for 
cold  air  to  draw  off,  etc.,  —  mostly  preventive 
measures.  In  prairie  and  plain  it  may  be  possible 
to  assist  their  resistance  to  such  damage  by  culti- 
vating the  ground  as  the  farmer  does,  but  in  the 
real  forest  country  such  means  are  excluded  by  the 
character  of  the  ground,  and  the  expense.  Alto- 
gether the  only  practical  remedies  lie  in  the  di- 
rection of  foreseeing  the  damage  and  guarding 
against  it. 

Animals,  and  especially  insects,  are  frequently  in- 
jurious to  the  young  crop,  and  insects  also  to  old 
trees,  by  their  defoliation.  This  damage,  too,  can  be 
largely  obviated  by  preventive  measures. 

Since  many,  if  not  most,  injurious  insects  are 
monophagous,  i.e.  feed  on  one  species,  or  at  least 
one  genus,  mixed  forests  resist  their  damage  better, 
since  the  number  of  host  plants  is  reduced  and  the 
intermixed  trees  impede  progress  and  development 
of  the  pest.  Fewer  insects  develop  in  the  dense 
shade  and  on  vigorous,  healthy  plants,  hence  they 
can  be  kept  in  check  to  some  extent  by  keeping 
the  crop  dense  and  in  vigorous  development,  when 
it  can  resist  the  attacks ;  and  also  by  keeping  the 
woods  clean  of  debris,  dead  and  dying  trees,  in 
which    insects    develop ;    finally,    as    ultima   ratio, 


SILVICULTURE.  185 

positive  measures  must  be  resorted  to  for  collecting 
and  destroying  the  broods  of  insects  before  they 
have  time  to  do  damage.  Considerable  amounts 
of  money  are  spent  in  this  direction  in  European 
forest  management,  amounting  in  ordinary  times 
to  from  one-half  to  one  cent  per  acre,  but,  from 
time  to  time,  the  pests  break  out  in  such  numbers 
that  no  remedies  will  avail.^  Some  loss  must 
be  sustained,  which  is,  however,  of  less  moment 
if  the  crop  had  already  developed  to  suitable  size 
and  can  be  harvested  when  the  trees  have  been 
killed. 

Wind-storms  are  a  danger  to  older  timber,  es- 
pecially of  shallow-rooted  species,  like  the  spruce, 
and  on  soft  soils  and  exposed  slopes  or  mountain 
tops.  Here  care  must  be  taken  in  keeping  the 
stand  w'ell  thinned,  so  that  the  trees  may  get  accus- 
tomed to  the  swaying  of  the  winds  in  more  open 
stand.  In  this  way  they  are  induced  individually 
to  form  a  better  root  system  and  become  wind-firm, 
while  in  the  dense  stand  their  strength  was  only  in 
the  union  with  neighbors. 

Under  conditions  where  damage  from  windfall 
is  to  be  expected,  it  becomes  necessary  to  arrange 
the  felling  areas  so  that  no  stand  of  old  timber  be 
suddenly  exposed  to  the  prevailing  winds  by  the 

1  In  Bavaria,  in  one  year  (1891),  ^500,000,  or  20  cents  per 
acre  of  property  and  $1.80  per  acre  infested,  were  spent  in  combat- 
ing one  insect,  the  nun,  without  much  effect.  The  premature  har- 
vesting of  60,000,000  cubic  feet  was  the  result  of  the  damage. 


l86  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

removal  or  harvest  of  a  neighboring  stand.  Since 
the  prevailing  winds  in  the  northern  zone  come 
mostly  from  the  western  direction,  it  is  sought  to 
secure  an  arrangement  of  the  stands  of  different 
age  in  series  (a  "felling  series"),  so  that  the  old 
and  tall  timber  is  found  at  the  eastern  end,  the  age 
classes  grading  off  to  the  west,  the  youngest  at  the 
western  end,  and  the  tops  of  the  series  of  stands 
ideally  appearing  like  a  roof  slanting  down  from 
east  to  west.  It  is  apparent  that,  under  such  an 
arrangement,  the  old  timber  can  be  harvested  and 
reproduced  without  exposing  any  stands  to  the 
force  of  the  wind,  and  the  young  timber  is  growing 
up  under  the  influence  of  winds  and  becomes  wind- 
firm. 

The  greatest  danger  to  forest  properties,  how- 
ever, is  fire,  and  the  protection  against  this  most 
unnecessary  evil,  resulting  mainly  from  man's  care- 
lessness, absorbs  a  large  part  of  the  energy  of  the 
forester.  Proper  police,  but  also  silvicultural  meas- 
ures, reduce  the  amount  of  danger  and  damage. 

The  damage  which  fire  occasions  is  very  vari- 
able, according  to  a  variety  of  conditions.  Most 
forest  fires  are  confined  to  the  forest  floor,  running 
in  the  litter  and  young  wood,  scorching  the  older 
trees  merely ;  yet,  under  favorable  conditions,  the 
fire  may  run  up  the  trees,  becoming  a  crown  fire 
and  propagating  itself  from  top  to  top  and  throw- 
ing firebrands  and  sparks  to  the  ground,  often  for 
long  distances. 


SILVICULTURE.  1 87 

Young  crops,  during  the  seedling  and  brush- 
wood stage,  are  readily  killed,  while  older  timber 
may  stand  scorching  without  much  or  any  damage. 
Different  species  behave  differently  in  this  re- 
spect. The  giant  trees,  or  Sequoias,  covered  with 
a  dense  bark  more  than  a  foot  thick,  and  their 
wood  hardly  inflammable,  the  Douglas  fir,  with  a 
similar  protection,  are  less  liable  to  be  damaged 
than  the  thin-skinned  firs  or  spruces,  beech  or 
white  birch  and  aspen.  The  green,  succulent 
foliage  and  wood  of  broad-leaved  trees  is  more 
resistant  than  the  dry  resinous  foliage  and  wood 
of  conifers.  Drouthy  conditions  and  dry  soils  are 
mxore  likely  to  induce  danger  from  fire  damage 
than  the  opposite  conditions.  Finally,  the  presence 
or  absence  of  an  undergrowth,  or  debris,  of  dead 
and  dry  branches  of  trees,  and  the  character  of 
the  forest  floor,  must  make  a  difference  in  the  ease 
with  which  a  fire  may  start  and  run,  the  amount 
of  heat  it  develops,  and  the  consequent  damage. 

The  damage  may  consist  in  the  total  loss  of  the 
crop,  which  is  usual  until  the  pole-wood  stage  is 
reached.  In  pole  wood  and  young  or  old  timber  the 
trunks  may  be  only  blackened,  but  more  often  the 
cambium  layer  below  the  bark  is  partially  or  en- 
tirely killed,  causing  either  the  death  of  the  tree, 
especially  when  recurring  fires  accumulate  the 
damage,  or  secondary  damage  results  through  rot 
or  insects  which  develop,  especially  in  the  weakest 
trees. 


l88  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

A  damage  even  greater  than  the  loss  of  the  crop 
is  experienced  in  the  loss  of  the  soil  cover,  the 
litter  and  duff,  which  is  the  forester's  manure. 
This  loss  may  become  irreparable  in  localities 
where  only  a  thin  layer  of  mineral  soil  overlies  the 
rock,  and  the  opportunity  for  starting  a  new  crop 
may  be  entirely  destroyed.  The  fire  danger  in 
the  United  States  is  so  great  that  in  many  local- 
ities it  almost  prohibits  the  practice  of  forestry; 
for  who  would  want  to  invest  money  and  energy 
in  a  property  which  is  exposed  to  extra  risks  from 
fire  by  the  absence  of  proper  legislation,  or  by  the 
lack  of  police  and  moral  support  on  the  part  of  the 
community  in  enforcing  it,  by  the  unpunished 
negligence  or  malice  of  incendiaries,  and  by  the 
populational  conditions  of  the  country,  which  pre- 
vent the  economical  disposal  of  the  debris  from 
logging  operations. 

The  last-mentioned  difficulty  is  perhaps  the 
most  important,  because  practically  almost  impos- 
sible to  avoid.  There  must,  especially  in  our  vir- 
gin woods,  always  result  from  the  harvest  of  the 
useful  material  a  large  amount  of  debris,  tops, 
branches,  brush,  and  other  waste,  which  cannot 
be  marketed ;  and  this  not  only  impedes  the  devel- 
opment of  a  young  crop,  but  adds  to  the  danger 
from  fire  until  decay  has  reduced  the  debris,  which 
often  requires  many  years,  even  decades. 

The  proposition  has  been  made  to  burn  the 
debris  after  the  logger.     This  is  not  as  simple  and 


SILVICULTURE.  1 89 

inexpensive  as  it  appears,  when  care  is  to  be  taken 
not  to  damage  the  remaining  growth  and  especially 
when  natural  regeneration  is  to  be  practised,  or  a 
young  crop,  already  in  part  provided  by  nature,  is 
to  be  saved. 

Where  the  culling  is  made  light,  only  here  and 
there  a  tree  being  taken,  especially  in  the  mixed 
forest,  the  amount  of  debris  also  is  small  and  it 
may  be  left  to  natural  decay,  with  the  only  pre- 
caution that  the  branches  of  the  top  are  lopped 
so  as  to  have  the  whole  mass  come  into  as  close 
contact  with  the  ground  as  possible,  when  the 
decay  proceeds  more  rapidly. 

But  where  the  culling  is  severe,  as  is  often 
called  for  in  pure  woods  and  also  in  mixed  stands, 
and  a  large  amount  of  debris  results,  even  this 
lopping  of  tops  is  of  no  avail ;  the  fire  risk  con- 
tinues for  many  years.  Incessant  watching  dur- 
ing the  dangerous  season  is  necessary,  and  even 
this  proves  futile,  for  a  fire,  easily  started  by  the 
slightest  carelessness  or  by  lightning,^  will  run  in 
the  debris  so  fast  that  no  human  power  can  stop  it. 

1  Although  undoubtedly  most  fires  are  the  result  either  of  malice, 
foolishness,  or  carelessness,  namely,  by  smokers,  campers,  farmers 
in  clearing  brushlands,  and  others  using  fires,  locomotives  throwing 
sparks  from  smoke-stacks  and  ash-pits,  the  writer  can  attest  that  light- 
ning is  occasionally  the  cause  of  fires.  The  old  "  snags,"  dead 
trees,  the  result  of  previous  fires,  are  especially  liable  to  be  struck  by 
lightning,  and  being  dry,  they  burn,  and  propagate  the  fire  either  by 
the  flames  burning  down  to  the  ground,  or  else  by  sparks  and  burn- 
ing limbs  falling  to  the  ground;   but  the  writer  has  also  seen  live 


190  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY. 

Partial  burning  and  piling  of  the  brush  reduce 
the  danger  somewhat,  but  hardly  in  proportion  to 
the  e  fpense.  The  readiest  remedy,  where  forestry 
is  to  be  practised  under  such  conditions,  is  to  make 
a  clean  sweep,  that  is,  clearing,  burning  up  the 
debris,  and  replanting,  or  else,  if  natural  regenera- 
tion is  to  be  relied  upon,  adopting  the  strip  system, 
when  the  opportunity  of  burning  the  debris  totally 
is  still  possible. 

The  danger  from  the  debris  continues  longer  in 
coniferous  woods  than  in  the  deciduous-leaved,  the 
wood  of  which  decays  more  readily  in  contact  with 
the  ground,  although  usually,  in  these  latter,  larger 
amounts  of  debris  result.  For  instance,  in  the  hard- 
wood forests  of  the  Adirondacks,  the  merchantable 
log  material  presents  only  one-third  of  the  total 
amount  of  wood,  two-thirds  being  cordwood  and  de- 
bris. The  only  hope  here,  in  the  absence  of  a  paying 
home  market  for  fuel  from  this  inferior  material, 
is  to  establish  chemical  works  for  its  conversion  on 
a  large  scale  into  charcoal,  acetic  acid,  wood  alco- 
hol, and  other  useful  manufactures. 

trees,  even  of  hardwoods,  blaze  when  struck  by  lightning,  and  prop- 
agate the  fire  in  spite  of  a  pelting  rain.  Of  509  fires  occurring  H. 
the  Bavarian  state  forests  during  6  years,  4  were  demonstrably  aC' 
credited  to  lightning  and  7  to  locomotives.  Of  156  conflagratioias 
in  the  Prussian  state  forests  during  10  years,  3  were  the  result  of 
lightning  and  only  4  from  locomotives,  7  years  out  of  the  10  being 
without  any  record  of  fire  from  this  last  cause,  and  that  on  a 
property  of  7,000,000  acres,  over  half  of  which  was  stocked  with 
pine  on  dry  sanrly  soil 


SILVICULTURE.  191 

In  fact,  the  application  of  silviculture,  i.e.  the 
systematic  production  of  wood-crops  as  a  business 
proposition,  in  our  culled,  mismanaged  woodlands 
throughout  the  United  States  is,  in  most  cases, 
possible  only  where  the  means  exist  of  utilizing 
this  inferior  material ;  for  the  risks  from  fire  are 
too  great,  or  else  the  cash  which  would  otherwise 
have  to  be  spent  in  making  room  for  the  young 
crop  will  surely  exceed  reasonable  proportions. 
Only  the  state  or  other  long-lived  corporations  can 
afford  to  spend  money  now  in  the  hope  of  ade- 
quate returns  in  a  distant  future. 

That  it  is  finally  possible  to  reduce  the  fire  dan- 
ger to  a  minimum  by  proper  police  regulations  and 
by  silvicultural  measures,  and  by  proper  manage- 
ment and  organization,  is  attested  by  the  forest 
fire  statistics  of  the  German  forest  administrations, 
to  which  we  have  already  referred  on  pp.  137  and 
190. 

To  these  we  may  add  that  in  any  given  longer 
period  within  the  last  25  years  the  acreage  de- 
stroyed in  Prussia  or  Bavaria  (about  10,000,000 
acres)  rarely  exceeds  .005  per  cent  of  the  total  forest 
area  under  state  control.  In  a  recent  report  (1896) 
we  read  of  "very  considerable  damage  by  fire" 
occurring  in  the  Prussian  state  forests,  referring 
to  the  burning  over,  not  total  loss,  of  2500  acres. 
One  fire  is  reported  as  destroying  1000  acres  of  a 
"hopeful"  pine  and  spruce  plantation  20  to  25 
years  old.     In  the  next  year  (1897)  the  entire  loss 


192  ECONOMICS    OF  FORESTRY. 

was  not  over  lOO  acres.  This  comparative  im- 
munity is  due  to  both  administrative  and  police 
regulations. 

The  Indian  forest  administration,  under  circum- 
stances not  much  less  difficult,  nay,  perhaps  more 
difficult,  than  those  prevailing  in  the  United  States, 
refutes  the  assertion  that  forest  fires  may  not  be 
suppressed. 

Not  only  have  the  people  of  all  timbered  parts 
of  India  practised  the  firing  of  woods  for  many 
centuries,  for  purposes  both  of  agriculture  and 
pasture,  but  the  natural  conditions  in  many  of  the 
Indian  forests  are  such  as  to  discourage  the  most 
sanguine. 

The  forest  in  most  parts  is  a  mixed  growth,  ot 
which  a  considerable  portion  is  valueless  and  is 
left  to  die  and  litter  the  ground  with  dry  and 
decaying  timber,  furnishing  ready  fuel.  A  dense 
undergrowth,  largely  composed  of  giant  grasses 
and  bamboo,  covers  the  ground,  green  or  dry, 
to  which  is  added  a  mass  of  creeping  and  climbing 
vegetation.  It  is  a  dangerous  forest,  with  hot,  dry 
winds  to  fan  the  flames  ;  and  yet  the  forest  de- 
partment fights  and  prevents  fires,  and  succeeds  in 
a  measure.  The  efficiency  of  protection  has  con- 
stantly increased  with  perfection  of  methods,  and 
the  expenses  have  never  exceeded  $io  per  square 
mile  in  any  year  on  an  area  of  over  30,000  square 
miles,  of  which,  in  1895,  not  more  than  8  per  cent 
experienced    damage.       The     police     regulations 


SILVICULTURE.  193 

which  lead  to  such  results  will  be  discussed  in  a 
succeeding  chapter. 

Here  the  preventive  silvicultural  measures  and 
arrangements  in  the  forest,  which  are  designed  to 
reduce  the  fire  danger,  are  to  be  only  briefly 
enumerated. 

The  experience  that  deciduous-leaved  woods  are 
less  liable  to  danger  suggests  the  maintenance  of 
mixed  forest ;  the  fact  that  old  timber  is  compara- 
tively safer,  and  that  on  large  wind-swept  areas  the 
heat  and  the  rapidity  of  progress  of  a  fire  is  in- 
creased, leads  to  distributing  the  felling  areas,  and 
that  means  the  areas  of  young  crop,  isolating  them, 
making  them  smaller,  and  having  them  surrounded 
by  older  timber.  Removal  of  the  dead  and  dying 
trees  by  systematic  thinnings  wherever  possible, 
and  the  disposal  of  the  slash  from  logging  opera- 
tions, are  obvious  means  of  reducing  the  danger. 

In  German  forest  districts,  more  especially  those 
unduly  exposed  to  fire  danger,  a  subdivision  of  the 
forest  into  blocks  surrounded  by  avenues,  or  so- 
called  rides,  of  8  to  40  rods  width,  is  made. 
These  rides,  kept  free  from  inflammable  material 
by  annual  burning,  or  perhaps  by  sowing  to  grass, 
serve  the  purpose  of  confining  the  fire  within  the 
block,  and  furnishing  a  base  from  which  to  fight 
a  fire,  for  which  the  frequent  roads  may  also  be 
utilized. 

But  these  openings  are  worse  than  useless  unless 
kept  in  proper  condition,  and  unless  the  forces  to 


194  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

fight  the  fire  are  on  hand,  for  if  debris  is  allowed 
to  accumulate  on  them,  this  dries  out  more  read- 
ily, and,  in  addition,  the  draft  of  air  along  the  rides 
only  increases  the  fury  of  the  fire.  In  older  de- 
ciduous-leaved woods  the  shade  keeps  the  ground 
moist,  the  fire  runs  more  slowly,  and  a  wider  open- 
ing would  in  most  cases  prove  undesirable. 

The  same  may  be  said  regarding  rights  of  way 
for  railroads.  The  wide  swath  usually  made,  and 
usually  not  kept  clear,  but  rather  accumulating  in- 
flammable debris,  exposes  the  soil  to  the  drying 
effects  of  sun  and  wind,  and  besides,  creates  drafts 
of  air,  fanning  the  sparks  into  flame.  There  would 
be  more  safety  in  a  narrower  opening,  which  the 
shade  of  a  dense  stand  of  timber,  especially  if  of 
deciduous-leaved  trees,  would  keep  moist,  with  a 
tendency  to  extinguishing  the  sparks.  The  objec- 
tion that  the  falhng  of  trees  would  impede  and  en- 
danger the  traffic  might  be  overcome  by  gradually 
removing  those  Hable  to  fall. 

Through  specially  endangered  districts,  i.e.  in 
coniferous  forest,  safety  strips  running  along  the 
right  of  way  may  be  maintained.  On  these,  on 
both  sides  of  the  track,  a  strip  of  ground  25  feet 
wide  is  entirely  cleared  of  all  inflammable  material, 
which  may,  if  practicable,  be  used  for  farm  pur- 
poses ;  this  is  skirted  by  a  strip  of  woods  50  to  60 
feet  wide,  which  remains  wooded,  acting  as  a  screen 
for  the  sparks  from  locomotives,  but  is  also  kept 
clear  from  inflammable  materials  by  annual  raking 


SILVICULTURE.  195 

and  burning.  Where  this  is  not  sufficient,  a  ditch 
5  to  6  feet  wide  and  a  foot  or  so  deep  is  opened 
on  the  outside  of  this  strip  toward  the  endangered 
woods,  the  soil  being  thrown  toward  the  track  side 
and  possibly  planted  with  a  Hght-foliaged,  decidu- 
ous-leaved species ;  cross  ditches  through  the 
safety  strip  every  300  feet  add  further  to  the  safety 
by  confining  any  fire  within  reasonable  limits.  The 
whole  arrangement  requires  not  over  200  feet, 
and  that  mostly  usefully  occupied,  while  furnishing 
almost  absolute  security. 

Such  a  system  would  be  applicable  in  many 
cases  in  our  own  country.  It  would,  with  some 
slight  changes,  be  perfectly  feasible,  and  in  the 
end  profitable,  for  railroad  companies  to  grow  their 
tie  timber  in  this  way,  using  such  light-foHaged 
rapid  growers  as  black  locust,  catalpa,  etc. 

Forest  crop  production  as  a  business,  silviculture, 
will  become  practicable  and  profitable  in  this  coun- 
try only  when  reasonable  forest  protection  is  as- 
sured by  proper  exercise  of  state  functions. 

Until  this  is  secured,  lumbermen  will  continue 
to  exploit  the  natural  forest  without  much  regard 
to  its  fate  after  they  have  secured  its  present  val- 
uable stores,  for  they  cannot  afford  to  assume  the 
hazard  of  the  fire  danger. 

Before  positive  silvicultural  methods  are  applied 
by  them,  they  may  find  it  advantageous  to  cut  the 
virgin  forest  more  conservatively,  they  may  find 
that  it  pays  in  the  long  run  better  not  to  cull  too 


196  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

closely,  that  it  is  advantageous  to  leave  more  of 
smaller  sizes,  i.e.  to  limit  the  diameter  to  which 
they  remove  trees,  so  that  they  may  return  sooner 
for  a  second  cut,  and  also  to  avoid  unnecessary 
damage  to  the  young  volunteer  crop.  At  present 
the  Umitation  of  size  to  be  cut  or  to  be  left  uncut 
is  based  upon  calculations  of  immediate  profits  to 
be  derived,  and  does  not  take  into  account  any 
future  considerations,  since  the  lumberman  does 
not  cut  with  a  regard  to  the  future,  but  attempts 
to  secure  the  largest  present  gain.  He  views  the 
forest  as  a  mere  speculation.  To  curtail  his  pres- 
ent revenue  for  the  sake  of  a  future  revenue  by 
abstaining  from  cutting  all  that  is  marketable  is 
the  first  step  toward  changing  this  point  of  view, 
introducing  the  idea  of  continuity,  and  treating  the 
forest  as  permanent  investment. 

It  must  be  understood,  however,  that  the  limita- 
tion of  the  size  of  trees  to  be  cut  or  to  be  left  uncut 
has  not  necessarily  any  bearing  on  the  replace- 
ment of  the  crop ;  it  is  not  silviculture.  It  is  in 
the  main  a  financial  measure,  it  being  demonstrable 
that  it  pays  better  to  leave  small-sized  trees  to 
accumulate  more  wood  before  utilizing  them,  or 
else  a  device  to  prevent  overcutting  of  a  valuable 
species,  so  that  it  may  not  be  eradicated  too  soon, 
a  wise  measure  wherever  systematic  attention  to 
positive  silviculture  cannot  be  given. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

METHODS   OF  BUSINESS   CONDUCT: 
FOREST  ECONOMY. 

As  in  every  technical  industry  concerned  in  pro- 
duction, so  in  forestry  the  methods  of  the  tech- 
nique—  the  technical  art  —  are  distinct  from  the 
methods  of  the  business  conduct.  Silviailtiirc  rep- 
resents the  technical  art  of  forestry ;  while  under 
the  comprehensive  term  forest  economy  we  may 
group  all  that  knowledge  and  practice  which  is 
necessary  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  business 
of  forestry. 

Besides  the  purely  technical  care  in  managing 
the  productive  forces  of  nature  to  secure  the  best 
attainable  quantitative  and  qualitative  production  of 
material,  —  the  highest  gross  yield,  —  there  must 
be  exercised  a  managerial  care  to  secure  the  most 
favorable  relations  of  expenditure  and  income,  — 
the  highest  net  yield,  a  surplus  of  cash  results 
without  which  the  industry  would  be  purposeless 
from  the  standpoint  of  private  enterprise  and 
investment.  Moreover,  an  orderly  conduct  and 
systematic  procedure  to  secure  this  revenue  is 
necessary. 

197 


198  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

Carried  on  by  government  activity  for  reasons 
of  general  cultural  advantages,  the  net  yield  or 
money  profits  may  be  considered  secondary,  or 
perhaps  may  be  dispensed  with.  It  may  even  ap- 
pear rational  to  carry  on  forest  management  at  a 
loss,  for  a  time  at  least,  just  as  is  done  in  many 
other  forms  of  public  works,  because  of  the  indirect 
benefits  derived  from  it,  and  for  internal  improve- 
ment. Nevertheless,  even  in  that  case  it  would  be 
desirable  to  organize  and  to  carry  on  the  business 
of  forest  cropping  systematically,  with  a  view  of 
bringing  into  relation  results  and  efforts,  i.e.,  of 
counting  the  cost. 

It  is  possible,  also,  to  practise  the  art  of  silvicul- 
ture incidentally,  as  the  farmer  does,  or  can  do,  on 
his  wood  lot,  without  special  business  organization 
and  elaborate  planning,  the  owner  harvesting  and 
reproducing  and  tending  his  crop  whenever  need- 
ful ;  but  the  case  is  different  if  forest  growing  is  to 
be  carried  on  as  a  business  by  itself  with  a  view 
to  continued  and  regular  procedure,  to  continued 
and  regular  revenue ;  in  that  case  more  elaborate 
planning  becomes  necessary. 

The  one  peculiarity  which  distinguishes  the  for- 
estry business  from  every  other  business  is  the 
time  element.  The  forester  cannot  harvest  annu- 
ally what  has  actually  grown  (the  current  incre- 
ment) ;  the  forest  crop,  as  we  have  seen,  must 
accumulate  the  accretions  of  many  years  before  it 
becomes  mature,  i.e.  of  sufficient  size  to  be  useful; 


FOREST   ECONOMY.  199 

hence,  unless  special  provisions  are  made  in  the 
management  of  a  forest  property,  the  crop  and  the 
revenue  would  mature  and  be  harvested  periodically 
only,  and  that  in  long  periods ;  from  twenty  to  a 
hundred  years  and  more  would  elapse  from  the 
sowing  to  the  reaping. 

The  farmer  may  be  satisfied  to  practise  on  his 
wood  lot  attached  to  his  farming  business  what  is 
technically  called  an  "  intermittent "  management, 
harvesting  and  reproducing  from  time  to  time 
without  attempting  to  secure  regular  annual  re- 
turns. But  when  forestry  is  to  be  practised  as  an 
independent  industry,  it  becomes  desirable,  as  in 
any  large  mercantile  establishment,  to  plan,  organ- 
ize, and  manage  the  business  so  as  to  secure, 
continuously  and  systematically,  a  regular  annual 
income  nearly  equal  or  increasing  year  by  year. 

The  lumberman  or  forest  exploiter  also  plans 
and  organizes  his  business  for  annual  returns,  not, 
however,  to  be  derived  continuously  from  the  same 
ground ;  he  seeks  a  new  field,  he  changes  his 
location  as  soon  as  he  has  exhausted  the  accumu- 
lated stores  of  his  forest  property,  which  he  then 
abandons  or  devotes  to  other  purposes  than  wood- 
cropping. 

The  forester's  business  is  based  upon  the  con- 
ception of  what  is  technically  called  the  "sus- 
tained yield  "  (Ger.  NachJialtigkeitsbetrieb,  Fr. 
Possibility),  a  continued  systematic  use  of  the 
same    property    for    wood -crops,    the    best    and 


200  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

largest  possible  ;  this  is  secured  by  proper  atten- 
tion to  silviculture,  reproducing  systematically  the 
harvested  crop.  Finally,  when  the  industry  is 
fully  estabhshed,  he  is  annually  to  derive  this 
"  sustained  yield  "  as  far  as  practicable  in  equal  or 
nearly  equal  amounts  forever,  under  an  "annual 
sustained  yield  management."  This  is  secured  by 
means  oi  forest  regulation,  the  principal  branch  of 
forest  economy,^  which  comprises  the  methods 
of  regulating  the  conduct  of  the  business  so  as  to 
secure  finally  the  ideal  of  the  forester,  —  a  forest  so 
arranged  that  annually,  forever,  the  same  amount 
of  wood  product,  namely,  that  which  grows  annu- 
ally on  all  his  acres,  may  be  harvested  in  the  most 
profitable  form. 

As  in  every  business  there  is  an  ideal,  a  standard 
in  conduct  and  condition,  which  the  manager  more 
or  less  consciously  recognizes  and  follows,  or  seeks 
to  establish,  yet,  on  account  of  uncontrollable  cir- 
cumstances can  never  quite  attain,  so  is  the  ideal 
of  the  forester  never  quite  attainable,  although  it 
is  his  obhgation  to  attempt  and  approach  it  as  far 
as  practicable. 

The  ideal  conduct  of  the  management  "  for  annual 
sustained  yield  "  is  possible  only  under  the  ideal 

1  For  this  branch  of  forest  economy  a  number  of  terms  have  been 
used,  such  as  "  forest  organization,"  "  forest  valuation,"  "  working 
plan,"  "  yield  regulation,"  "  forest  management,"  which  either 
linguistically  are  not  commendable,  or  else  single  out  a  part  of  the 
work  of  the  "  forest  regulator  "  to  designate  the  whole. 


FOREST    ECONOMY.  201 

condition,  which  the  forester  recognizes  in  the 
"  normal  forest,"  the  standard  by  which  he  meas- 
ures his  actual  forest  and  to  which  he  desires,  as 
nearly  and  as  quickly  as  circumstances  permit,  to 
bring  his  actual  forest.  The  latter  will  usually  be 
found  abnormal  in  some  one  direction,  or  in  several 
directions,  and  hence  make  the  ideal  conduct  im- 
possible. The  object  of  forest  regulation,  then,  is 
to  prepare  for  the  change  of  an  abnormal  forest 
into  a  normal  forest. 

In  simplest  terms,  the  normal  forest  is  a  forest  in 
such  condition  that  it  is  possible  to  harvest  annually 
forever  the  best  attainable  product,  or  to  secure  con- 
tinuously the  largest  possible  revenue.  The  concep- 
tion and  schematic  description  of  the  normal  forest 
we  have  already  elucidated  on  p.  1 28  ff.  It  was  there 
shown  that  such  a  forest  must  contain  as  many 
stands,  varying  in  age  by  years  or  periods,  as  there 
are  years  in  the  rotation  (r=  normal  felling  age) 
i.e.  normal  age  classes  must  be  present,  so  that  an 
annually  equal  normal  felling  budget  {ri—  I)  might 
be  harvested,  the  reproduction  being  looked  after, 
and  the  best  possible,  i.e.  normal  accretion  (/),  being 
secured  by  silviculture.  As  a  result  of  these  two 
conditions  the  normal  stock  (S„)  would  be  present, 
which  would  permit  the  desired  annual  sustained 
yield  management.  We  found  that  the  normal 
stock,  varying  in  actual  amount,  of  course,  accord- 
ing to  species,  site,  silvicultural  system,  and  espe- 
cially length  of  rotation,  is  found  by  summing  up 


202  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY. 

the    arithmetical  progression    represented    by   the 

accumulated  increments  of  the  age  classes,  andthatit 

rl 
assumes  the  general  expression  vS„  =  —  ;  that  is  to 

say,  half  the  accretion  which  takes  place  through- 
out the  rotation  forms  the  normal  stock,  which 
must  be  maintained  for  a  sustained  yield  manage- 
ment, the  other  half  furnishes  the  harvest  or 
yield  during  the  rotation.  On  p.  130  examples  of 
the  actual  volume  and  value  of  normal  stock  under 
different  conditions  were  given. 

While  we  have  assumed,  for  the  sake  of  simplic- 
ity of  conception,  that  the  stands  of  different  age, 
the  age  classes,  are  separate  in  area  one  from  the 
other,  it  is  readily  conceivable  that  all,  or  some 
of  them,  may  be  mixed  together,  on  the  same 
area  as  in  the  selection  forest,  where  all  age 
classes,  from  the  seedling  to  the  mature  timber, 
are  mingled ;  and  if  there  are  enough  trees  in 
gradation  from  the  older  to  the  younger,  allow- 
ing for  losses,  so  that  the  younger  age  class  can 
replace  in  amount  the  older  as  it  is  removed  or  is 
growing  out  of  its  class,  we  would  have  arrived  at 
normal  condition  for  the  selection  forest. 

In  the  actual  forest  some  one  condition  or  all 
conditions  will  usually  be  found  abnormal.  The 
normal  accretion  may  be  deficient,  because  the  area 
is  not  fully  stocked  or  the  timber  is  past  its  prime, 
old  timber  growing  at  an  inferior  rate,  or  rot  off- 
setting increment.    The  age  classes  are  usually  not 


FOREST   ECONOMY.  203 

present  in  proper  gradation  and  amount ;  some  of 
them  are  probably  entirely  lacking,  others  are  in 
excess,  either  too  many  stands  of  older  or  of 
younger  timber,  so  that  even  if  the  normal  stock 
of  wood  in  amount  be  on  hand,  it  may  be  in  abnor- 
mal distribution. 

The  normal  accretion  can,  of  course,  be  estab- 
lished only  by  silvicultural  methods.  The  other 
two  conditions  are  attained  or  approached  by  reg- 
ulating the  felling  budget  in  area  and  amount,  so 
that  gradually  the  age  classes  and  the  normal  stock 
are  established.  Various  methods  are  employed 
to  determine  the  actual  felling  budget,  which  will 
gradually  lead  to  the  final  possibility  of  the  nor- 
vial  felling  budget. 

The  simplest  method  would  be  to  divide  the 
forest  into  as  many  areas  as  there  are  years  or  pe- 
riods in  the  rotation,  and  cut  one,  or  the  equivalent 
in  volume,  every  year  or  during  every  period,  when 
after  one  rotation  the  age  classes  are  estabhshed. 
If  proper  attention  has  been  given  to  the  re- 
production and  to  keeping  the  reproduced  areas 
fully  stocked,  the  normal  conditions  are  attained 
after  the  forest  has  been  once  cut  over,  i.e.  during 
the  first  rotation.  But  this  would  burden  the  pres- 
ent generation  with  the  entire  cost  of  securing  the 
normahty ;  at  the  same  time  necessitating  not  only 
unequal  felling  budgets,  as  better  or  poorer  stands 
are  cut,  but  also  requiring  that  the  harvest  of 
timber   past  its    prime  be  deferred,  if  the  forest 


204  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

is  largely  composed  of  old  age  classes,  or  that 
immature  timber  be  cut  prematurely,  if  young 
age  classes  predominate,  —  in  either  case  a  finan- 
cial loss.  Indeed,  the  greatest  practical  difficulty 
which  confronts  the  forest  regulator  is  found  in 
gauging  the  sacrifices  which  the  present  must 
make  for  the  sake  of  the  future. 

To  overcome  the  difficulty  of  unequal  felling 
budgets  in  part,  the  so-called  "  allotment  methods  " 
were  invented,  which  try  to  distribute  the  felling 
areas  so  as  to  equalize  the  budget,  the  area  allot- 
ment providing  for  equality  of  felling  areas,  the 
volume  allotment  for  equality  of  volume,  and  the 
combined  allotment  securing  both,  the  main  stress 
of  these  methods  being  laid  on  the  establishment 
of  normal  age  classes,  from  which  finally  the  nor- 
mal stock  results.  The  simplest  form  of  these 
methods,  which  is  now  in  practice  in  Saxony  and 
elsewhere,  determines  the  felling  budget  only  for 
the  next  decade  in  such  a  manner  that  the  future 
will  find  a  sufficient  amount  of  stock  on  hand  to 
secure  an  approximately  sustained  felling  budget, 
determined  from  decade  to  decade. 

The  most  logical,  although  practically  not  always 
readily  applicable,  methods  of  budget  regulation, 
which  lay  main  stress  on  the  existence  of  normal 
stock  in  proper  amount,  are  the  so-called  normal 
stock  or  formula  methods.  These  compare  the 
actual  stock  (5a)  with  the  normal  stock  (5„)  which 
should  be  on  hand,  and  determine  the  period  {e) 


FOREST   ECONOMY.  205 

during  which  the  difference  in  stock  is  to  bo 
equalized  and  the  normal  stock  is  to  be  secured 
either  by  saving  of  increment,  if  there  be  a  de- 
ficiency, or  by  removing  any  surplus  during  the 
period  of  equalization ;  the  establishment  of  the 
proper  series  of  age  classes  being  left  to  the  future. 
The  felling  budget  (d)  which  will  secure  this 
equalization  may  be  expressed  by  formula :  — 

e 

The  choice  of  the  period  of  equalization  {e)  is  to 
be  made  with  due  consideration  of  the  financial 
aspects  of  the  property  and  the  owner's  financial 
capacity. 

Altogether,  the  principle  of  the  "  owner's  inter- 
est" must  be  the  guiding  one  in  the  management 
of  any  property  ;  and  it  would  first  have  to  be  dem- 
onstrated that  a  sustained  yield  management,  either 
annual  or  intermittent,  and  sacrifices  of  revenue  in 
the  present  for  the  sake  of  a  future  improved 
revenue  are  in  his  interest.  For  it  must  always  be 
remembered  that  financially  forestry  v!\q,2C!\^  forego- 
ing present  revenue  or  incurring  present  expenditure 
for  the  sake  of  future  revenue  ;  it  involves  gauging 
present  and  future  advantages,  and  the  time  ele- 
ment, as  we  have  seen,  is  the  prominent  element 
in  its  finance  calculations. 

Before  an  annual  sustained  yield  management 
will  appear  profitable  in  the  United  States,  many 


206  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

changes  in  economic  conditions  will  have  to  take 
place,  among  which  we  may  single  out  reduction 
of  danger  from  fire ;  opportunity  for  utihzing  infe- 
rior material ;  increase  in  wood  prices  by  reduction 
of  the  natural  supplies  on  which  no  cost  of  produc- 
tion need  be  charged ;  the  development  of  desire 
for  permanent  investments  instead  of  speculative 
ones ;  an  extension  of  government  functions  in  the 
direction  indicated  in  the  first  chapter,  leading  to 
the  practice  of  forestry  by  state  governments  on  a 
large  scale. 

Meanwhile  all  that  can  be  expected  from  private 
forest  owners  is  that  they  may  practise  more  con- 
servative and  careful  logging  of  the  natural  woods, 
avoiding  unnecessary  waste,  and  as  far  as  possible 
paying  attention  to  silviculture,  the  reproduction 
of  the  crop,  leaving  to  the  future  the  attempt  to 
organize  a  sustained  yield  management.  Only 
governments  and  perpetual  corporations  or  large 
capitalists  can  afford  to  make  the  sacrifices  which 
are  necessary  to  prepare  now  for  such  a  manage- 
ment. 

In  order  to  secure  the  data  upon  which  the  fell- 
ing budget  may  be  regulated,  a  forest  survey  is 
necessary,  which  will  embrace  not  only  an  area 
and  topographic  (geometric)  survey,  serving  for 
purposes  of  subdivision,  description,  and  orderly 
management,  but  also  a  quantitative  survey,  an 
ascertainment  of  the  stock  on  hand  in  the  various 
parts  of  the  property,  and  of  the  rate  of  accretion 


FOREST   ECONOMY.  20/ 

at  which  the  different  stands  are  growing.  Besides 
this  stock  taking  ^  and  measurement  of  accretion, 
accompanied  by  a  description  of  the  forest  condi- 
tions of  the  different  parcels  or  stands,  all  of  which 
exhibit  the  present  status  of  the  forest,  the  con- 
struction of  so-called  "  normal  yield  tables "  is 
needed.  These  are  the  result  of  measurements 
on  the  most  perfect,  normally  stocked  stands  of 
various  species,  stating  what  the  contents  of  such 
stands  should  be  at  different  periods  of  life,  gener- 
ally from  ten  to  ten  years,  giving,  therefore,  by 
decades  the  progress  of  accretion  under  normal 
conditions  for  the  area  unit.  With  the  aid  of 
these  tables  (see  Appendix  to  Chap.  VI)  the  sum- 
mation of  which  permits  a  statement  of  the  normal 
stock  required  for  different  rotations,  the  sustained 
yield  can  be  ascertained  by  comparing  with  the 
actual  conditions,  and  gauging  the  felling  budget 
as  intimated  in  the  formula  given  above. 

In  order  to  translate  the  statements  of  volumes 
recorded  in  the  yield  tables  into  values,  which  is 
needed  to  permit  finance  calculations,  the  progress 
of  accretion,  or  of  accumulation  of  stock  in  size  or 
assortments  of  different  value,  must  be  ascertained. 
This  leads  to  the  construction  of  financial  yield 
tables,  which  give  the  value  from  period  to  period 
either  of  the  unit  measure  of  wood  (cubic  feet,  feet 
B.M.)  or  of  the  unit  measure  of  area  (acre)  nor- 

^  For  this  quantitative  survey,  the  term  "  valuation  survey  "  has 
been  adopted  by  English  writers  with  doubtful  etymologic  propriety. 


208  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

mally  stocked,  or  else  the  statement  is  made  in 
percentic  relation. 

When  all  these  data  have  been  laboriously  gath- 
ered, with  an  attempt  at  a  degree  of  accuracy 
greater  or  less  according  to  the  intensity  of  the 
proposed  management,  the  formulation  of  a  work- 
ing plan  and  the  ascertainment  of  a  proper  felling 
budget  can  be  begun. 

After  having  determined  upon  the  general  policy 
of  management,  with  due  consideration  of  the 
owner's  interests  and  of  market  conditions,  general 
and  local ;  and  after  having  decided  upon  the  silvi- 
cultural  policy,  including  choice  of  leading  species 
in  the  crop  for  which  the  forest  is  to  be  main- 
tained, and  silvicultural  method  of  treatment,  as 
coppice  or  timber  forest,  under  clearing  system 
or  gradual  removal  or  selection  system,  —  the 
most  important  and  difficult  question  to  be  solved 
is  that  of  the  rotation,  the  time  which  is  to  elapse 
between  reproduction  and  harvest,  or  the  normal 
felling  age,  that  is  the  age,  or  so  far  as  age  is  in 
relation  to  size,  the  diameter,  to  which  it  is  desirable 
to  let  the  trees  grow  before  harvesting  them. 

In  the  United  States,  among  the  enthusiastic 
propagandists  of  the  necessity  of  forest  preserva- 
tion, there  exist  the  crudest  notions  on  this  sub- 
ject, which  it  may  be  well  here  to  set  right.  There 
is  no  maturity  of  a  forest  crop  as  we  know  it  in 
agricultural  crops ;  wood  does  not  ripen  naturally, 
and  trees  do  not  even  usually  die  a  natural  death 


FOREST   ECONOMY.  209 

at  a  given  period,  but  death  is  with  them  a  gradual 
process  of  decay,  the  result  of  exterior  damage,  of 
insect  and  fungus  attacks ;  trees  actually  die  by 
inches  in  most  cases,  and  it  may  take  hundreds  of 
years  before  the  trunk  is  so  weakened  that  its  own 
weight  or  a  wind-storm  may  lay  it  low.  It  is, 
therefore,  not  practicable,  as  has  been  proposed,  to 
harvest  when  death  is  approaching.  Besides,  the 
poetry  and  the  picturesqueness  of  the  forest  might 
perhaps  be  subserved  by  leaving  trees  to  grow 
until  they  die,  allowing  mighty  giants  to  mingle 
with  the  younger  generations,  as  in  the  virgin 
woods  of  nature,  until  they  are  past  usefulness ; 
but  it  would  be  abhorrent  to  economic  thought 
thus  to  waste  the  energy  of  nature.  The  question 
of  ripeness,  of  the  proper  felling  age,  wherever 
forest  growth  is  an  object  not  of  mere  pleasure, 
as  in  a  luxury  forest,  must  be  determined  by  eco- 
nomic considerations. 

There  is  more  sense  in  the  proposition  that  the 
felling  age  be  determined  by  a  diameter  limit  below 
which  timber  is  to  be  considered  immature;  in  fact, 
the  forester  bases  his  calculations  of  the  rotation 
in  part,  at  least,  upon  size  of  crop.  But  the  propo- 
sition, frequently  advocated,  to  restrict  a  forest 
owner  to  an  arbitrary  diameter  limit,  below  which  he 
is  not  to  cut  his  crops,  anywhere  and  everywhere, 
is  not  only  unsound  as  an  exercise  of  state  pohcy, 
but  also  mistakes  the  economic  questions  involved 
in  the   determination    of   that  limit,   and  entirely 


2IO  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

misjudges  the  value  of  the  limitation  as  far  as 
silvicultural  results,  the  perpetuation  of  a  valuable 
forest,  are  concerned.  In  fact,  from  this  last  and 
most  important  point  of  view  it  might  be  wiser, 
under  certain  conditions,  to  impose  upon  the  owner 
the  cutting  out  of  everything  below  a  given  diam- 
eter. For,  as  we  have  seen  in  nature's  mixed 
forest,  valuable  timber  and  weed  trees  are  growing 
side  by  side ;  the  diameter  restriction  indiscrimi- 
nately applied  might  prevent  the  removal  of  the 
objectionable  portion,  the  weed  growth,  putting  a 
premium  upon  the  decimation  of  the  more  valuable 
portion.  Without  silviculture,  i.e.  attention  to  sys- 
tematic reproduction,  a  diameter  restriction  is  of 
little  value.  With  silviculture  it  is  not  necessary,  for 
even  the  entire  removal  of  the  whole  crop  —  denu- 
dation —  and  its  replacement  by  planting  or  sowing 
would  accomplish  the  object  sought,  namely,  the 
continuity  of  the  forest,  and  in  many  cases  might 
be  preferable  to  other  methods.  Arbitrary  diameter 
restriction  is  merely  a  device  to  prevent  a  too 
rapid  reduction  of  a  valuable  species  before  the 
time  when  its  reestablishment  by  silvicultural 
methods  becomes  practicable.  Otherwise  a  diam- 
eter limitation  has  justification  only  when  it  can 
be  shown  that  it  is  more  profitable  and  in  the 
owner's  interest  to  leave  trees  below  the  diameter 
limit  uncut  for  a  longer  time. 

In  other  words,  the  determination  of  the  rotation 
or  felling  age,  or  of  the  felling  size,  is  largely  a 


FOREST   ECONOMY.  211 

matter  of  financial  calculation.  This  calculation  is, 
however,  influenced  by  silvicultural  and  technical, 
as  well  as  purely  financial,  considerations.  The 
fact  that  the  stocks  in  a  coppice  lose  their  vigor  if 
sprouts  are  left  too  long  uncut,  or  that  frequent  and 
full  seed  years  do  not  occur  until  a  certain  period 
in  the  Hfe  of  the  crop,  sets  limitations  to  the  length 
of  rotation  ;  the  technical  value  of  the  product,  sal- 
ability,  and  market  requirements  for  special  materi- 
als (firewood,  poles,  mining  timber,  railroad  ties,  saw 
timbers)  may  influence  the  choice,  but  finally  quan- 
tity of  product  and  money  yield  are  determinative. 

From  the  standpoint  of  political  economy  it  was 
supposed  that  the  largest  volume  of  product  per 
acre  per  annum,  the  rotation  of  maximum  volume, 
should  be  the  aim  of  forest  management,  and  the 
rotations  chosen  for  state  forests  in  Germany, 
which  lie  mostly  between  90  and  140  years,  were 
supposed  to  be  based  upon  this  principle.  Lately, 
however,  it  has  been  shown  that  the  largest  aver- 
age product  of  wood  per  acre  and  year  occurs  much 
earlier,  and  usually  before  much  of  the  crop  has 
attained  to  desirable  size. 

Since  the  accretion  of  a  stand  varies  from  period 
to  period,  gradually  increasing  in  rate  from  its  early 
stages  to  a  given  age  and  then  again  sinking,  there 
must  be  a  time  when  the  average  of  all  the  differ- 
ent rates,  the  average  accretion,  attains  its  maxi- 
mum. If,  for  instance,  a  fully  stocked  acre  of 
spruce  contained  at   120  years  10,200  cubic  feet  of 


212  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

wood,  it  would  have  produced  an  average  per  year 

of  =  85  cubic  feet;  if  a  stand  at  80  years 

contained  6880  cubic  feet,  it  would  have  produced 

an    average    per   year   of  — —  =  86   cubic    feet ; 

hence  from  the  standpoint  of  volume  production  a 
rotation  of  80  years  would  be  preferable. 

It  will  be  readily  admitted  that  value  production 
rather  than  volume  production  should  be  the  aim, 
and  since  with  age  the  size  and  with  it  the  value 
increases,  the  year  of  maximum  volume  production 
will  be  of  interest  only  as  denoting  the  lowest  limit 
of  a  rotation  based  on  value  accretion.  If  the 
price  of  80-year-old  wood  averaged  for  all  sizes 

3  cents  per  cubic  foot,  and  of  120-year-old  wood 

4  cents,  then  in  the  above  example  the  average  value 

...  ...       10200x4 

accretion  in  the  one  case  would   be = 

120 

$3.40  per  year,  while  in  the  second  case  it  would 

6880  X  3   .   _ 

have  been  — ^ ^  =  $2.58  per  year,  hence  the 

80 

longer  rotation  would  appear  more  favorable. 

But  even  the  rotation  of  maximum  value  produc- 
tion will  not  satisfy  any  private  investor,  since  it 
leaves  out  of  consideration  the  expenditures  nec- 
essary to  secure  the  result.  The  annual  expendi- 
tures for  planting,  taxes,  administration,  which  are 
necessary  to  secure  the  annual  harvest,  should  at 
least  be  deducted,  and  since  these  vary  with  the 


FOREST   ECONOMY  213 

length  of  rotation,  that  rotation  should  be  found 
at  which  the  surplus  of  the  annual  values  derived 
from  the  harvest  over  the  annual  expenditures  is 
greatest,  the  so-called  rotation  of  the  highest  forest 
rent.  Finally,  even  this  method  of  calculation  can- 
not satisfy  a  strict  financier,  for  it  neglects  to  take 
account  of  the  capital  invested  and  the  relation  of 
the  revenue  to  this  capital,  it  neglects  the  interest 
account. 

The  true  financial  rotation  is  that  which  brings 
the  highest  rate  of  interest  on  all  the  capital  in- 
vested in  soil  and  stock  of  wood,  or,  as  it  is  techni- 
cally known,  the  rotation  of  the  highest  soil  rent  or 
"  soil  expectancy  value "  (Ger.  Bodenerwartiings- 
ivcrth). 

As  we  have  seen  (p.  129),  the  amount  of  stock 
of  wood  which  must  be  maintained  as  capital  for 
a  sustained  yield  management  increases  with  the 
length  of  rotation.  In  our  example,  in  order  to 
bring  the  stock  corresponding  to  an  80-year  rota- 
tion to  the  amount  needed  for  a  100-year  rotation 
would  require  that  the  owner  should  abstain  from 
harvesting  for  about  20  years.  The  question  then 
arises  whether  this  saving  will  prove  profitable, 
whether  the  accumulation  of  values  to  the  looth 
year,  which  can  only  then  be  harvested,  will  ex- 
ceed the  results  which  could  be  had  by  harvesting 
in  the  8oth  year  and  investing  the  proceeds.  Here 
appears  for  the  first  time  the  need  of  that  branch 
of  forest  economy  which  may  be  truly  called  for- 


214  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

est  valuation,  or  better,  forest  finance  and  forestry 
statics.  This  branch  concerns  itself,  not  only 
with  the  ascertainment  of  the  present  value  of  a 
single  stand,  and  with  the  future  value  to  which  it 
is  growing,  but  also  with  its  value  as  a  part  of  a 
regulated  forest  management,  in  which  for  all  time 
to  come  it  is  an  inherent  necessary  member  as  a 
producer  of  values.  It  also  occupies  itself  with 
comparisons  of  the  financial  results  of  different 
kinds  of  management. 

It  is  here  that  the  foremost  peculiarity  of  forest 
economy,  namely,  the  time  element,  comes  most 
prominently  to  expression.  The  inabiHty  of  with- 
drawing annually  the  interest  on  the  invested  capi- 
tal makes  compound  interest  calculations  necessary, 
and  since  the  investment  in  the  young  plantation, 
for  instance,  will  have  to  be  left  untouched,  accu- 
mulating upon  itself  the  interest  for  fifty,  one  hun- 
dred, or  more  years,  the  question  as  to  what  interest 
rate  it  is  fair  to  assume  for  compounding  on  such 
a  long  time  investment,  becomes  important.  It  is 
well  known  that  every  business,  every  employment 
of  capital,  according  to  its  character,  works  with  a 
different  interest  rate.  There  are  many  reasons 
why  the  forestry  business  should  work  with  a  low 
rate  of  interest.  Compounding  for  such  a  long 
time,  the  general  tendency  of  sinking  interest 
rates  must  be  taken  into  account,  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  history  has  shown  and  philosophy 
sustains  the  expectation  that  prices  for  wood  are 


FOREST   ECONOMY.  215 

likely  to  rise,  as  natural  supplies  are  exhausted,  and 
the  demand  for  the  better  soils  for  agricultural  use 
limits  forest  growing  to  the  poorer,  absolute  forest 
soil.  Forest  properties,  with  the  exception  of  the 
danger  from  fire,  which  will  be  greatly  reduced 
when  systematic  management  is  begun,  are  in 
general  safe  properties  and  easily  managed,  requir- 
ing little  labor.  Hence,  if  safe  long  time  invest- 
ments in  the  United  States,  such  as  savings  and 
trust  companies  favor,  are  bringing  now  only  3  and 
3.^  per  cent,  it  is  justifiable  to  use  no  higher,  pos- 
sibly a  lower,  interest  rate  in  forestry  calculations. 
If  now  we  inquire  what  the  "  soil  expectancy 
value,"  i.e.  the  value  of  the  soil  expressed  by  its 
expected  yields,  is,  and  how  it  is  calculated,  we 
must  first  conceive  that  every  stand  in  a  regulated 
forest  management  is  expected  to  be  harvested 
every  r  years  (years  of  rotation)  forever ;  the 
income  is  therefore  in  the  nature  of  a  periodic 
or  intermittent  interminable  rent  or  revenue  {R\ 
the  capital  value  of  which  at  present  (Cq)  being 
found  by  well-known  mathematical  methods  in  the 

expression  Cr.  = -. The  rent  or  revenue 

"        I  •  o/'  -  I 

is  composed  of  the  final  harvest  yield  ( F,.),  and  of 
intermediate  incomes  by  thinning  (7"),  occurring  in 
the  years  a,  b,  etc.,  the  values  of  which  have  to  be  ex- 
tended for  purposes  of  comparison  to  the  same  time  in 
which  the  harvest  yield  occurs,  namely  to  the  year  r. 
The  expenditures  which  have  to  be  offset  are  the  out- 


2l6  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY. 

lay  for  planting  (c),  if  any,  occurring  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  rotation,  and  hence  to  be  extended  to 
the  end  of  the  rotation,  in  order  to  bring  it  into 
relation  with  the  yield,  and  the  annual  expenditures 
for  administration,  which  can  be  expressed  as  a  capital 
(A),  furnishing  yearly  forever  the  needed  amount. 
With  these  items  we  can  then  express  the  soil  rent 
value  — 

„  Yr+ral-Op'-<'+TbI-Opr-h...^T,l-Op^-i-C-l-Opr 

Oe=  ■ /9. 

I  -Op^—l 

By  entering  values  which  correspond  to  different 
rotations,  that  one  may  be  found  in  which  the  soil 
rent  value  appears  as  a  maximum,  the  true  financial 
rotation. 

It  will  readily  appear  that,  while  theoretically  this 
is  the  only  correct  financial  method  of  calculating, 
practically  it  is  difficult,  almost  impossible,  to  deter- 
mine values  for  the  various  items,  on  account  of 
varying  prices  and  uncertainty  of  interest  rate 
for  the  future.  Although  all  calculations  in  for- 
estry must  necessarily  be  approximations,  such 
calculations  may  serve  as  a  guide  for  a  time,  to  be 
recalculated  with  change  of  conditions. 

Where,  as  in  well-estabHshed  state  forest  ad- 
ministrations, the  question  is  not  one  of  strict 
financial  business,  and  where  absolute  forest  soils, 
which  could  not  be  used  for  other  purposes,  are 
involved,  the  simpler  forest  rent  calculation  is 
probably    more   satisfactory.       It   is   of   historical 


FOREST    ECONOMY.  21/ 

interest  to  state  that  for  nearly  forty  years  a  fierce 
literary  battle  as  to  the  propriety  of  applying  either 
one  or  the  other  method  has  been  waged  in  the 
German  forestry  literature  between  the  adherents 
of  the  forest  rent  and  the  soil  rent  theory  of  finance 
calculation. 

Where,  as  in  the  selection  forest,  the  harvest  is 
made  by  selecting  trees  here  and  there,  as  they 
grow  to  suitable  size,  instead  of  determining  a  rota- 
tion which  covers  the  whole  time  from  the  seedling 
to  the  harvest  stage,  a  calculation  may  be  made 
which  determines  only  the  last  part  of  the  rotation, 
namely,  the  time  which  is  required  by  trees  near 
cutting  size  to  grow  from  one  diameter  class  into 
the  next  higher,  and  then  choose  that  diameter 
limit  for  cutting  which  appears  most  profitable 
—  the  exploitable  size.  Since  this  method  of 
ascertaining  a  conservative  felUng  budget  is  ad- 
vocated and  used  in  the  so-called  working  plans 
prepared  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Forestry, 
it  may  be  well  to  elucidate  it  more  fully.  It  was 
first  taught  in  1 746  by  the  German  forester  Oettelt, 
and  adopted  with  various  modifications  by  the  French 
Code  forestier,  and  later  by  the  Indian  Forest  De- 
partment, as  paving  the  way  for  better  methods. 

By  a  forest  survey,  the  number  and  contents  of 
trees  of  different  diameters  near  felling  size  found 
on  the  average  acre  is  ascertained ;  by  a  series  of 
measurements  (stem  analyses)  the  rate  at  which 
one  diameter  class  grows  into  the  next  higher  is 


21 8       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

determined,  and  upon  this  basis  a  yield  table  is 
constructed  which  shows  the  amount  of  material 
obtainable  from  decade  to  decade  according  to  the 
difference  of  felling  size.  That  diameter  limit 
then  is  chosen  which  in  the  long  run  appears  most 
profitable. 

If,  for  instance,  the  actual  survey  showed  of  the 
exploitable  species  an  average  per  acre  of  — 

28  trees  above  10  inches  diameter, 
23  trees  above  12  inches  diameter, 
18  trees  above  14  inches  diameter, 

and  it  is  ascertained  that  it  requires  12  years  for 
an  8-inch  tree  to  grow  into  the  lo-inch  diameter  class, 
16  years  for  a  lO-inch  tree  to  grow  to  12-inch,  and 
14  years  for  a  12-inch  tree  to  grow  to  14-inch  di- 
ameter, then  if  a  lo-inch  standard  were  adopted 
the  present  cut  would  remove  the  28  trees  above 
lo-inch  diameter,  and  no  exploitable  size  will  again 
be  found  before  12  years;  while  if  the  12-inch 
standard  were  adopted,  the  return  for  another  har- 
vest based  on  the  same  standard  could  not  be 
made  before  16  years,  and  the  14-inch  standard 
would  permit  a  return  in  14  years.  These  data 
would  then  permit  a  tolerably  accurate  finance 
calculation,  to  determine  which  the  profitable  size 
in  the  long  run  would  be.  This  calculation  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry  does  not  make,  but  instead 
ascertains  and  compares  merely  volume  produc- 
tion by  constructing  a  yield  table. 

In  a  given  case   the  yield  table  approximately 


FOREST   ECONOMY. 


219 


corresponding  to  the  above  enumeration  shows  as 
follows  (rounded  off)  :  — 


Diameter  limit  to 

Actual  stock 

Amount  of  cut  obtainable  after 

which  cut  is  made. 
Inches. 

on  hand, 
M  ft.  B  M. 

10   1     20      1      30     1    40      1  50  years. 
M  ft.  B.M. 

10 

4.6 

.40 

1.04 

2            3.22 

4.85 

12 

4- 

•44 

1.24 

2.48     4.14 

14 

3- 

.76 

1.84 

3-32 

This   table  shows  that,  while   the  cut  to   lo-inch 

yields  of  course  a  larger  harvest,  the  same  harvest 

in  amount  can  then  only  be  again  had  in  about  50 

years;  while  the  harvest  is  replaced  in  less  than 

30  years  if  the  cut  is  made  to   14-inch,  and   the 

average  annual  production  is  then  largest,  namely, 

3.32 

-— -  =110  feet  B.M.  per  year. 

The  report  of  the  bureau  nevertheless  chooses 
the  12-inch  limit  because  "the  present  yield  to  a 
14-inch  Hmit  is  not  large  enough  to  justify  the 
construction  of  logging  roads,  the  building  of  camps, 
and  other  expenses  necessary  for  lumbering." 

In  other  words,  these  calculations  serve  only  as 
a  general  guide  to  direct  the  judgment.  And  es- 
pecially with  this  method  caution  is  necessary,  as 
it  is  based  upon  the  assumption,  probably  not  often 
correct,  that  reproduction  will  take  place,  and  that 
younger  age  classes  in  sufficient  number  and  amount 
are  in  existence   to  take  the  place  of   the  older ; 


220 


ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 


when,  as  is  often  the  case  in  the  virgin  uncut  woods, 
most  of  the  trees  are  of  exploitable  size,  this  as- 
sumption and  with  it  the  method  of  regulating  the 
budget  fails  entirely. 

An  improvement  of  the  method  and  a  closer 
approach  to  true  finance  calculation  could  be  made 
by  basing  the  exploitable  size  on  the  highest  net 
value  per  unit  of  volume  in  connection  with  the 
time  it  takes  to  replace  it.  In  this  connection  it 
must  be  understood  that,  although  one  and  the 
same  stumpage  price  ^  per  thousand  feet  board 
measure  is  paid  for  all  sizes,  the  price  per  unit  of 
volume  as  it  grows  in  the  tree  is  by  no  means  the 
same,  for  the  board  foot  measure  as  appUed  to 
round  logs  is  not  a  unit  of  volume  in  the  same 
sense  as  the  cubic  foot,  a  deduction  variable  ac- 
cording to  log  size  being  made  from  the  true  vol- 
ume to  allow  for  loss  in  sawing. 

The  following  table  based  on  one  of  the  accepted 
rules  of  measurement(Doyle's)will  elucidate  this :  — 


Diam.  of  log 
(length  ID  feet)- 

Real  Contents. 
X  10 

Contents  in 
lumber  at  mill. 

Stumpage  value  of 
forest  grown  material 
per  cubic  foot  if  price 
per  M  ft.  =$5.00. 

Inch. 

Cubic  feet. 

Feet  B.M. 

Cents. 

lO 

65 

23 

1.8 

14 

127 

62 

2.4 

18 

211 

122 

2.9 

24 
30 

588 

250 
422 

U 

1  Stumpage  is  the  amount  of  exploitable  material ;  stumpage  price  is 
the  price  paid  for  the  wood  leave,  or  the  wood  as  it  stands  in  the  forest 


FOREST   ECONOMY.  221 

The  value  of  the  unit  vokime  increases,  there- 
fore, with  the  size  of  a  log,  yet  in  a  decreasing 
ratio ;  if,  now,  the  time  required  to  produce  the 
cubic  foot  is  put  in  relation,  a  nearer  approach  to 
the  profitable  exploitable  size  may  be  made. 

A  further  improvement,  designed  to  secure  more 
surely  a  sustained  yield,  requires  that  the  number 
of  trees  (at  least  the  dominant)  of  different  diam- 
eter classes  which  are  present  be  ascertained,  and 
the  number  which  should  normally  exist  be  deter- 
mined, when,  if  necessary,  enough  trees  of  the 
higher  or  lower  diameter  class  can  be  left,  or  else 
the  excess  be  removed,  to  bring  the  number  to 
standard. 

Whatever  method  of  budget  regulation  is  adopted, 
it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the  approach  to 
normaHty  can  only  be  gradual,  and  can  be  secured 
in  shorter  or  longer  time,  depending  on  the  owner's 
interests ;  in  other  words,  while  the  regulation  of  a 
budget  is  primarily  based  on  mathematical  measure- 
ments of  accretion,  yield,  and  values,  in  practical 
application  it  must  be  modified  by  judgment,  which 
makes  allowance  for  changing  conditions ;  for  forest 
regulation  only  points  the  way,  sets  up  an  ideal 
which  in  practice  we  may  never  approach  closely ; 
it  gives  us  merely  a  standard,  a  measure,  a  check 
upon  our  business.  It  may  even  be  to  the  best 
interest  of  the  owner  to  defer  entirely  the  attempt 
at  a  sustained  yield  management,  leaving  it  to  a 
more  favorable  future  to  regulate  the  budget  accord- 


222  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

ing  to  its  requirement.  Finally,  silviculture,  re- 
placement of  the  crop,  is  the  much  more  impor- 
tant obligation,  assuring  continuity  of  crops,  and 
this  can  in  many  cases  be  practised  without  the 
elaborate  organization  of  the  ideal  business  con- 
duct. 

Of  as  much  and  even  more  moment  than  the 
budget  regulation  for  the  orderly  conduct  of  the 
business  is  the  organization  of  the  property  into 
units  of  management,  forest  districting.  This  will 
be  more  or  less  elaborate  according  to  the  intensity 
of  the  management. 

In  Germany,  a  manager's  district,  which  may 
comprise  from  5000  to  25,000  acres,  is  divided  into 
compartments  of  50  to  100  acres,  and  sometimes 
more  in  each,  which  form  the  units  of  management, 
being  numbered  consecutively,  and  sometimes 
named.  In  the  level  country  it  is  usual  to  locate 
these  compartments,  not  only  on  the  map,  but  in 
the  field,  by  dividing  the  property  into  rectangular 
blocks  separated  from  each  other  by  openings 
(rides)  running  north  and  south,  east  and  west,  so 
that  on  the  map  the  subdivision  looks  like  an 
American  city  street  system.^  In  the  mountainous 
country  the  subdivision  is  an  irregular  one,  the 
division  lines  following  the  contours  of  the  slopes, 
valleys,  and  roads,  and  usually  the  division  lines 
are  not  opened. 

1  The  rides  are  used  for  roads  and  serve  in  the  pinerits  also  as 
fire  guards. 


FOREST   ECONOMY.  223 

This  merely  geometric  subdivision  serves  the  pur- 
pose of  easy  orientation ;  it  enables  the  forest  reg- 
ulator in  his  working  plan  to  properly  ascertain  and 
describe  the  stock,  and  to  plan  the  treatment  of  each 
compartment,  and  it  enables  the  manager  readily  to 
locate  and  apply  the  prescriptions  of  the  working 
plan.  A  number  of  these  units  may  then  again 
be  combined  into  subdistricts  or  ranges  for  pur- 
poses of  administration,  fire  patrol,  etc.,  while  all 
those  which  are  to  be  managed  under  one  silvi- 
cultural  system  are,  at  least  in  the  working  plan, 
segregated  as  zvorking  blocks  or  working  sections, 
from  those  to  be  managed  under  another  silvi- 
cultural  system  (coppice  or  timber  forest,  etc.),  or 
under  another  rotation. 

These  various  subdivisions  are  all  noted  on  maps, 
as  is  also,  by  colors,  shadings,  and  signs,  such  de- 
scriptive matter  as  is  desirable  to  present  a  clear, 
comprehensive  picture  of  the  actual  forest  condi- 
tions, and  to  indicate  the  changes  which  are  to  be 
attempted. 

One  of  the  important  prescriptions  in  the  work- 
ing plan,  especially  wherever  clear  cutting  systems 
are  to  be  applied,  or  where  species  liable  to  wind- 
fall are  involved,  is  the  estabhshment  of  a  proper 
sequence  or  collocation  of  felling  areas — felling 
series  {Hiebsfolge).     (See  p.  186.) 

Since  danger  from  fire  threatens  the  young  crop 
more  than  old  timber,  especially  in  pineries,  it  is 
desirable  to  decrease  the  risk  by  making  the  fell- 


224  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

ing  areas  small  and  so  distributing  them  that  they 
are  interrupted  by  old  timber  ;  the  same  risk  exists 
with  regard  to  insect  damage,  and  the  same  plan  — 
disruption  of  the  age  classes  —  reduces  that  danger. 
Again,  older  timber  grown  up  in  the  close  company 
of  a  dense  stand  is  wind-firm,  and  resists  both  wind- 
falls (uprooting)  and  wind  breakages  (breaking  of 
stems),  but  when,  by  felling  operations,  portions 
of  the  interior  are  opened  up  and  exposed  to  the 
force  of  winds,  the  trees  are  liable  to  be  thrown, 
especially  if  of  shallow-rooted  species,  or  on  shal- 
low soils.  To  avoid  this  damage  it  is  desirable, 
not  only  to  make  the  felling  areas  narrow,  so 
that  the  wind  has  less  force,  but  to  locate  the  fell- 
ings with  regard  to  the  prevailing  winds  (mostly 
westerly),  so  that  the  older  age  classes  lie  in 
the  lee,  the  younger  to  the  windward,  the  roof 
of  the  forest  or  the  felling  series  ideally  rising 
from  west  to  east,  the  fellings  progressing  from 
east  to  west. 

Where  it  becomes  necessary  to  cut  on  the  wind- 
ward side,  opening  up  timber  unaccustomed  to 
wind  exposure,  a  ivhid  mantle  is  left  on  the  wind- 
ward side,  which  is  also  a  commendable  prescription 
for  small  wood  lots  of  farmers,  to  keep  the  drying 
winds  out.  Or  else,  in  due  time,  ten  to  twenty 
years  before  the  necessity  for  harvesting  timber 
so  located,  a  severance  felling  is  made,  a  small 
opening  which  will  induce  the  formation  of  a 
wind-firm  mantle. 


FOREST   ECONOMY. 


225 


While  these  considerations  of  future  danger 
make  a  distribution  of  felling  areas  desirable, 
present  considerations  of  logging  expenses  dictate 
consolidation  of  felling  areas,  for  the  concentrated 
logging  can  be  done  more  cheaply  than  the  dis- 
tributed logging,  since  temporary  means  of  trans- 
portation may  answer  the  first  plan,  while  per- 
manent roadways  become  necessary  in  the  latter 
plan. 

Here,  again,  we  see  that  the  forest  regulator  is 
constantly  called  upon  to  compromise  between  the 
exigencies  of  the  present  and  the  benefits  for  the 
future  ;  he  must  weigh  the  desirability  and  the  finan- 
cial ability  of  present  investment  or  present  loss 
for  the  sake  of  future  gain.  The  general  working 
plan,  then,  —  the  result  of  the  investigations  of  the 
forest  regulator,  —  is  more  than  a  mere  budget 
regulation  ;  it  furnishes  the  broad  basis,  the  prin- 
ciples and  policies,  for  the  entire  management  in 
all  directions  for  a  long  time  to  come,  taking  into 
consideration  present  as  well  as  future  contin- 
gencies, and  serving  as  a  guide  to  the  manager. 

Since,  during  the  long  time  which  such  a  plan 
contemplates,  all  sorts  of  changes,  unforeseen  and 
uncontrollable,  take  place,  changes  in  economic 
conditions  and  changes  in  forest  conditions  as  well 
as  growth  in  experience,  it  is  useless  to  make  detail 
prescriptions  beyond  a  short  period,  leaving  to  the 
future  a  readjustment  and  revision  of  the  working 
plan  and  the  formulation  of  new  policies. 
Q 


226  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

The  detail  prescriptions  for  the  first  decade  or  so 
are  laid  down  in  a  periodic  working  plan,  based  upon 
the  general  working  plan,  in  which  the  areas  to  be 
cut,  and  to  be  replanted,  and  the  improvements  to  be 
made,  are  specifically  designated.  For  the  felling 
plan  the  areas  that  must  first  be  cut  are  designated, 
namely  the  old  and  decrepit  stands  which  are 
deteriorating,  —  a  dead  capital  not  growing  in 
value,  —  and  all  the  open  stands  which  do  not 
utilize  the  soil  to  full  satisfaction ;  next  are  chosen 
such  parcels  as  need  to  be  cut  to  secure  a  desir- 
able felling  series  in  the  future ;  and  if  more  is 
needed  to  fill  the  required  felling  budget,  areas 
near  the  desired  normal  felling  age  are  added. 

Where  practicable,  the  areas  are  prescribed  in 
which  thinnings  are  to  be  made  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  crop,  and  an  estimate  made  of  the 
probable  amount  secured  by  such  thinnings,  which 
is  added  to  the  main  felling  budget.  Whatever 
planting  operations  may  become  desirable  are 
detailed  in  a  special  planting  plan. 

For  the  administration  of  a  large  and  complex 
forest  management,  a  thorough  organization  and 
bookkeeping  are  of  course  essential.  These  offer 
no  especial  peculiarities  that  need  here  be  dis- 
cussed, except  to  state  that  besides  the  financial 
bookkeeping  and  the  cost-keeping  accounts,  it  is 
necessary  to  keep  account  of  the  results  of  the 
operations  upon  the  forest  conditions.  For  this 
purpose  a  ledger  account  is  opened  for  each  com- 


FOREST   ECONOMY.  22; 

partment,  in  which  the  changes  are  noted  to  fur- 
nish a  basis  for  the  revision  of  plans  for  the 
future. 

It  will  have  become  clear  that  the  business 
conduct  of  a  forest  management  is,  as  every  other 
business,  influenced  by  the  economic  conditions, 
general  and  local,  surrounding  it.  Much  that  is 
possible  under  the  settled  conditions  of  such  coun- 
tries as  Germany  and  France  will  not  be  practicable 
under  our  conditions,  until  they  have  become  more 
fixed  and  stable. 

But  the  technical  art  —  silviculture  —  which  is 
the  more  important  since  it  furnishes  the  basis 
for  any  kind  of  forest  management,  being  based 
mainly  on  natural  laws,  is  applicable  everywhere, 
just  as  in  Germany  or  France,  where  its  methods 
have  been  developed  and  practised  for  centuries. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

PRINCIPLES   AND   METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY. 

The  expositions  of  the  preceding  chapters  will 
have  made  it  clear  that  the  forest  cover  is  of  more 
importance  to  the  household  of  a  nation  than  many- 
other  of  its  resources,  that  it  bears  a  peculiar 
relation  to  national  prosperity,  and  also  that  its 
management  for  continuity  offers  various  unique 
and  pecuhar  aspects,  which  call  for  special  active 
interest  by  the  community  at  large  and  by  its  rep- 
resentative, the  state. 

Briefly  summarizing  the  arguments  for  such 
special  interest  and  exercise  of  governmental 
activity,  we  recall  that  the  forest  is  a  natural  re- 
source which  answers  simultaneously  three  pur- 
poses of  civilized  society :  it  furnishes  directly 
materials  used  in  very  large  quantities  and  almost 
as  needful  as  food ;  it  forms  a  soil  cover  which 
influences,  directly  and  indirectly,  under  its  own 
cover  and  at  a  distance,  conditions  of  waterfiow, 
of  soil,  and  of  local  climate  ;  it  has,  in  addition,  an 
aesthetic  value,  furnishing  pleasure  and  recreation 
and  benefiting  health. 

The  exploitation  of  this  resource  for  private 
228 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  229 

gain  is  apt  to  lead  to  its  deterioration  or  eventual 
destruction,  especially  in  a  country  where  popu- 
lation is  relatively  small  and  unevenly  distributed, 
when  only  the  best  kinds  and  the  best  cuts  can  be 
profitably  marketed.  Hence,  since  profit  is  the 
object  of  private  enterprise,  exploitation  must  under 
such  conditions  be  by  necessity  wasteful.  By  the 
removal  of  the  useful  kinds  and  of  the  desirable 
individuals,  leaving  the  ground  to  be  occupied  by 
tree  weeds  and  runts,  the  reproduction  of  the 
desirable  and  useful  is  prevented,  and  since  the 
forest  by  changing  its  composition  and  quaUty  is 
deteriorated  in  value,  the  future  is  injured  as  far 
as  material  interests  are  concerned. 

Since,  with  the  removal  of  the  marketable 
timber,  the  interest  of  the  individual  in  the  forest  is 
gone,  it  is  naturally  neglected,  and  conflagrations 
which  follow  the  wasteful  exploitation,  with  the 
accumulated  debris  left  in  the  woods,  kill  or 
damage,  not  only  the  remaining  old  timber,  but 
more  especially  all  the  young  growth.  Even  the 
soil  itself,  often  formed  only  by  the  mould  from 
the  decay  of  leaves  and  litter  accumulated  through 
centuries,  is  destroyed,  and  thus,  not  only  the  prac- 
ticability, but  the  possibility,  of  restoration  is  frus- 
trated. In  many  localities  the  consequences  of 
such  destruction  are  felt  in  deterioration  of  climatic 
conditions,  and  in  uneven  waterflow,  floods/  and 
droughts  being  exaggerated ;  TnThis  way  damage 
is   inflicted  on    porl;ions    of    the    community    far 


230  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

removed  from  its  cause  and  unable  to  protect 
themselves.  The  private  individual  can  hardly  be 
expected  to  appreciate  these  distant  interests  of 
his  own  motion  in  the  management  of  his  forest 
property,  hence  the  state  must  guard  them. 

To  insure  a  coriservative  treatment  and  conti- 
nuity of  the  resource,  —  a  sustained  yield  manage- 
ment, —  it  is  necessary  to  curtail  present  revenue 
or  to  make  present  expenditures  for  the  sake  of  a 
distant  future,  since  the  crop  takes  many  decades 
to  mature.  This  time  element  is  the  peculiar 
feature  in  forest  management  which  renders  the 
use  of  the  soil  for  such  production  undesirable  for 
private  enterprise  concerned  in  immediate  results. 
The  fact  that  the  capital  invested  in  the  soil  and  in 
the  gradually  accumulating  wood  growth  must  be 
tied  up  for  many  decades,  and  exposed  to  many 
dangers,  before  the  harvest  returns  interest,  and 
that  hence  finance  calculations  and  financial  trans- 
actions with  such  kind  of  property  become  com- 
plicated, renders  the  safety  of  this  resource  in 
private  hands  doubtful,  and  points  to  the  desira- 
bility of  permanent,  stable,  long-lived   ownership. 

The  desire  to  get  the  largest  present  profit  from 
his  labor,  which  is  the  only  incentive  of  private 
enterprise,  will  be  also  a  constant  incentive  to  cur- 
tail the  wood  capital  necessary  for  a  sustained 
yield  management,  and  to  let  the  future  take  care 
of  itself. 

The  interest  in  the  future  lies  with  the  state  ;  th? 


METHODS    OF   FOREST   POLICY.  23 1 

state  must  interfere,  therefore,  wherever  the  inter- 
ests of  the  future  clearly  demand  it. 

What  form  shall  this  interference  take  ?  What 
shall  be  the  policy  of  the  state  in  regard  to  the 
forest  resources  ? 

The  answer  will  vary  according  to  our  concep- 
tions of  government  functions,  according  to  prac- 
tical considerations  of  expediency,  and  according 
to  the  character  and  location  of  the  forest  areas. 

In  the  first  chapter  we  have  endeavored  to 
develop  a  conception  of  governmental  functions 
based  upon  the  logical  proposition  that  the  state  is 
to  protect  the  broad  interests  of  the  many,  the 
community,  against  the  inconsiderate  use  of  prop- 
erty by  the  few  ;  and  we  laid  special  stress  upon  the 
necessity  of  including  the  interests  of  the  future 
community  in  this  consideration,  calling  for  the 
exercise  of  providential  functions  on  the  part  of 
the  state. 

While  in  principle  this  position  may  be  regarded 
as  a  self-evident  logical  sequence  of  the  state  idea 
everywhere  in  application  under  differently  devel- 
oped conditions  of  government,  the  manner  and 
extent  of  exercising  its  functions  will,  of  course, 
vary.  In  the  densely  populated  monarchical  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  with  relatively  scanty  resources,  a 
much  more  direct  and  strict  interference  is  called 
for  than  in  a  country  which  has  still  plenty  of 
elbow  room,  with  plenty  of  resources ;  here  it  may 
be  expedient  to  leave  adjustment  to   future  con- 


232  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

sideration  and  action,  there  expediency  calls  for 
prompt  and  vigorous  assertion  of  state  rights  and 
obligations. 

How  inconsistently  in  actual  practice  the  princi- 
ples of  state  function  may  be  applied  can  nowhere 
be  studied  better  than  in  the  United  States.  While, 
as  a  principle,  we  are  inclined  to  demand  restric- 
tion of  state  interference  and  insisting  upon  per- 
sonal liberty  to  circumscribe  and  minimize  in  many 
directions  the  sphere  of  governmental  action  and 
authority,  we  actually  find  paternalism  rampant, 
almost  to  the  verge  of  despotism,  in  other  direc- 
tions, as  in  the  liquor  laws  and  oleomargarine 
laws,  offering  restrictions  which  no  European  would 
tolerate.  Surely  expediency  has  here  dictated 
almost  the  annihilation  of  principle.  We  canj_. 
therefore,  not  expect  to  have  the  policies  which 
satisfy  one  country,  although  based  on  sound  prin- 
ciples, transferred  and  applied  in  the  same  way  in 
another  country. 

It  may  be  conceded  that  the  truly  socialistic  con- 
ceptions (much  ventilated  in  forestry  literature), 
which  consider  it  a  duty  of  the  state  to  take  care 
that  the  materials  necessary  or  desirable  for  the 
comfortable  existence  of  its  society  be  produced  in 
sufficient  quantity  and  economically,  are  either  anti- 
quated and  buried  with  the  rest  of  physiocratic 
teachings,  or  are  not  yet  accepted  as  true  democratic 
doctrine.  In  mercantile  pursuits,  generally  speak- 
ing, individual  effort  and  responsibility  are  certainly 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY  233 

preferable  to  government  action  and  authority, 
which  must  often  be  arbitrary,  indirect,  uneconom- 
ical, and  ineffective.  Hence,  as  far  as  forest  areas 
serve  only  the  one  object  of  furnishing  supplies, 
and  form  the  basis  of  industrial  activity,  we  may, 
for  a  time  at  least,  allow  our  general  modern  in- 
dustrial policy  of  non-interference  to  prevaO,  which 
is  based  upon  the  theory,  only  partially  true,  that 
self-interest  will  secure  the  best  use  of  the  means 
of  production. 

There  is,  however,  one  great  generic  difference 
between  the  forestry  business  and  all  other  produc- 
tive industries,  which  places  it  after  all  on  a  dif- 
erent  footing  as  far  as  state  interest  is  concerned  ; 
it  is  the  time  element,  which  we  have  again  and 
again  accentuated,  and  which  brings  with  it  conse- 
quences not  experienced  in  any  other  business. 

The  result  of  private  activity  which  is  supposed 
to  come  from  self-interest  is  closely  connected  with 
the  working  of  the  well-known  economic  law  of 
supply  and  demand  which  regulates  the  effort  of  the 
producer.  This  law  and  the  self-interest  can  be 
trusted  to  bring  about  in  most  cases  a  proper  balance 
rapidly,  but  in  the  forestry  business  this  balance 
works  sluggishly;  before  a  shortage  in  supplies 
is  discovered  and  appreciated,  stimulating  to  pro- 
ductive effort,  years  will  have  elapsed,  years  which 
are  needed  to  prepare  for  a  supply  to  become  avail- 
able in  a  distant  future.  How  difficult  it  is  to  get 
conditions  of  forest  supplies  recognized  and  appre- 


234  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY 

ciated,  we  have  experienced  in  regard  to  our  white 
pine  supply.  It  has  taken  twenty  years  to  force 
this  realization  upon  the  producers,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  federal  government  made  a  creditable 
effort  to  ascertain  and  publish  the  facts.  And  even 
now,  when  there  is  no  more  doubt  of  the  fact  that 
these  most  important  supphes  are  bound  to  be 
practically  exhausted  in  a  short  time,  there  is  no 
very  extensive  self-interest  aroused  to  adjust  the 
balance  of  supply  and  demand,  and  to  anticipate 
the  shortage,  simply  because  self-interest  works 
only  for  the  present  and  does  not  concern  itself 
with  a  distant  future. 

We  must,  then,  admit  that,  even  with  regard  to 
supply  forests,  the  position  of  the  state  may  be 
properly  a  different  one  from  that  which  it  would 
be  proper  and  expedient  to  take  toward  other 
industrial  activities. 

When,  in  addition  to  the  mere  material  function, 
the  immaterial  benefits  of  a  forest  cover  enter  into 
the  question  or  become  paramount,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  both  principle  and  expediency  call 
for  timely  exercise  of  state  activity.  The  so-called 
protection  forests,  therefore,  which  by  virtue  of 
their  location  on  steep  mountain  slopes  or  on 
sand  dunes,  or  wherever  their  influence  on  soil 
conditions,  waterflow,  and  climatic  factors  can 
be  shown  to  be  superior  to  their  material  value, 
m.ust  claim  a  more  intimate  and  direct  atten- 
tion by  the  state ;  for  here  protection  of  present 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  235 

interests,  as  well  as  of  future  well-being,  demand 
the  application  of  the  old  Roman  law:  Utere  tuo 
ne  alterum  noceas ;  here  the  police  power  of  the 
state  is  invoked,  extended  according  to  our  wider 
horizon  and  fuller  conception  of  the  need  and 
direction  to  which  the  protective  function  of  the 
state  is  required,  as  developed  in  the  first  chapter. 
In  the  exercise  of  this  protective  function,  the  state 
performs  merely  the  primary  logical  duty  of  its 
existence,  namely,  securing  for  each  of  its  members 
the  maximum  opportunity  to  do  for  himself,  pre- 
venting interference,  direct  or  indirect,  by  others  ; 
it  is  not  doing  for  the  individual  what  he  could 
have  done  for  himself,  and  it  is  not  liable  to  the 
charge  of  paternalism. 

In  practical  application  of  this  principle,  the 
question  must,  to  be  sure,  be  settled  either  in 
general  or  in  each  case,  as  to  whether  injury  is 
being  done  or  is  to  be  anticipated  by  the  unre- 
stricted use  of  the  property,  and  what  form  the 
interference  by  the  state  is  to  take. 

There  are  three  generically  different  ways  in 
which  the  state  can  assert  its  authority  and  carry 
out  its  obligations  in  protecting  the  interests  of 
the  community  at  large  and  of  the  future  against 
the  ill-advised  use  of  property  by  private  owners : 
namely  by  persuasive,  ameliorative,  or  promotive 
measures,  exercising  mainly  its  educational  func- 
tions ;  by  restrictive  measures  or  indirect  control, 
exercising   police   functions ;    and   by  direct   con- 


236  "^  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

trol,  i.e.  ownership  and  management  by  its  own 
agents. 

Basing  our  conception  of  state  function  on  the 
fundamental  postulates,  that  the  state  has  pri- 
marily the  object  to  increase  the  freedom  of  the 
individual  in  personal  and  economic  relations,  and 
to  promote  the  possibilities  of  individual  effort ; 
that  the  sphere  of  governmental  action  and  author- 
ity in  circumscribing  individual  action  and  respon- 
sibility should  be  minimized  to  absolute  necessity ; 
and  that  the  state  should  undertake  to  do  only 
whatever  by  its  character  it  is  better  fitted  to  do 
for  the  community  than  the  individual  members 
can  do  for  it,  —  our  choice  of  method  will  be  in  the 
order  named. 

As  a  general  principle,  only  when  persuasive  and 
promotive  measures  fail  or  are  insufficient,  recourse 
is  to  be  had  to  restrictive  measures ;  only  when 
even  these  are  inefficient  or  inexpedient  is  the 
state  to  own  and  manage  properties. 

In  the  first  category  we  have  to  discuss  educa- 
tional measures,  taxation  and  tariff  duties,  bounties, 
and  other  aids  in  promotion  of  private  industry. 

The  educational  function  of  the  state  is  now 
recognized  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  bene- 
ficial in  all  civilized  nations,  although  the  degree 
and  generality  of  its  application  still  vary.  In  the 
United  States  we  rely,  as  regards  the  higher  and 
professional  education,  still  largely  on  private 
charity  and  effort,  with  results  comparatively  satis- 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  237 

factory,  yet  by  no  means  as  efficient,  as  state  in- 
stitutions could  make  them.  If,  as  is  the  case 
with  some  of  our  western  state  universities,  the 
state  provides  the  means  of  supporting  the  insti- 
tution by  a  certain  proportion  of  the  tax  rate  in- 
dependent of  poHtical  changes,  the  institution  is 
relieved  of  the  necessity  of  keeping  up  the  compe- 
tition for  favor,  which  disadvantageously  besets 
most  of  our  private  institutions  of  learning,  and  is 
destructive  to  the  competition  for  scholarship  and 
true  scientific  efficiency. 

A  state  institution,  thus  well  endowed  and  inde- 
pendent of  numbers  and  of  undesirable  rivalry, 
can  at  least  promote  efficiency  with  a  freer  hand. 
Charity  is  generally  conceded  to  be  undesirable 
where  it  can  be  avoided,  and  in  educational  matters 
the  interest  of  the  community  ought  to  be  sufficiently 
well  recognized  to  repudiate  support  by  charity. 

In  the  old  countries  the  educational  function  of 
the  state  is  so  well  established  as  to  have  almost 
eradicated  private  schools,  except  in  certain  special- 
ties and  primary  institutions. 

The  forestry  schools  of  Germany,  all  of  which  are 
now  state  institutions,  originated,  however,  in  private 
undertakings,  the  so-called  "  master  schools,"  when 
a  practitioner  assembled  around  him  young  men 
and  taught  them  all  he  knew.  Such  schools  arose 
in  large  numbers  during  the  last  half  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  —  the  first  in  1763  in  the  Harz 
Mountains,  —  but  were  usually  of  short  duration. 


238  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

the  change  to  well-organized  state  institutions 
taking  place  in  the  first  decades  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  In  the  United  States  the  state  of  New- 
York  was  the  first  to  recognize  its  obligation  in 
this  direction  by  instituting  a  College  of  Forestry 
in  1898,  administered  by  Cornell  University,  a 
private  institution.  Almost  simultaneously  a 
"  master  school "  was  instituted  on  the  Vander- 
bilt  estate  at  Biltmore,  N.  C,  and  by  private  en- 
dowment a  third  school  arose  in  connection  with 
Yale  University,  while  a  number  of  other  institu- 
tions attempt,  at  least,  to  keep  abreast  with  the 
times  by  representing  the  subject  in  some  fashion 
in  their  curricula. 

We  beheve  that  finally,  in  each  of  the  forested 
states,  it  will  be  considered  a  part  of  proper  forest 
policy  for  some  public  institution  of  learning  to 
furnish  instruction  in  forestry.  This  does  not  nec- 
essarily mean  university  or  higher  professional 
education ;  there  is  as  much  need  for  the  lower 
grade  education,  of  underforesters,  logging  bosses, 
etc.,  such  as  Berea  College,  Kentucky,  has  so 
auspiciously  inaugurated. 

The  only  danger  is,that  multiplication  in  num- 
ber rather  than  increase  in  efficiency  of  a  few  such 
institutions  will  be  the  rule  of  the  day,  when  the 
fever  sets  in. 

In  the  European  forestry  Hterature  a  lively  dis- 
cussion has  continued  for  years  as  to  whether  the 
higher  education  in   forestry  should  be  given  at 


METHODS   OF   FOREST    POLICY.  239 

separate  special  academies  or  forestry  schools,  or 
whether  these  should  be  connected  with  universi- 
ties. There  are  advantages  and  disadvantages  in 
either  arrangement ;  but  the  better  facilities  which 
can  be  had  at  a  university,  with  its  concentrated 
intellectual  and  laboratory  apparatus,  give  the 
preference  to  the  latter. 

In  the  United  States  propagandists  have  been 
loud  in  advocating  the  introduction  of  the  subject 
into  the  primary  public  schools.  While  it  is  de- 
sirable that  our  young  citizens  should  become 
acquainted  in  a  general  way  with  all  the  varied  in- 
terests of  the  world,  and  should  have  some  general 
intelligence  regarding  them,  such  as  well-educated 
teachers  can  impart  incidentally  in  reading  lessons 
and  otherwise,  it  would,  indeed,  be  mistaking  the 
object  of  primary  education  to  introduce  any 
special  systematic  teaching  of  professions  or  prac- 
tical arts.  Expediency,  if  not  principle,  forbids  it, 
for  with  equal  rights  every  other  branch  of  eco- 
nomics and  every  professional  art  might  claim 
recognition. 

Besides  the  establishment  of  schools,  there  are 
other  means  open  for  the  state  to  exercise  its  edu- 
cational functions.  The  endowment  of  scholar- 
ships, especially  travelling  scholarships,  has  been 
of  greatest  value  in  increasing  capacity  and  intel- 
ligence for  promoting  communal  interests.  As 
long  as  the  practice  of  forestry  does  not  exist,  or 
is  poorly  developed  in  the   United    States,  it   is 


240  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

desirable  to  give  opportunity  to  competent  stu- 
dents for  observing  its  practice  where  it  is  well 
developed.  A  year's,  or  even  a  half-year's,  travel 
through  the  well-managed  forest  districts  of  Ger- 
many or  France  gives  more  insight  into  the 
possibilities,  advantages,  and  methods  of  forest 
management  than  a  lifetime  spent  in  wrestling 
with  the  problems  without  having  seen  a  practi- 
cal solution  elsewhere. 

Next,  no  more  efficient  means  of  education  in  prac- 
tical arts  which,  like  forestry  and  agriculture,  rely 
still  largely  on  empirics  can  be  devised  than  the 
establishment  of  experi7ncnt  stations.  Experiments 
always  imply  the  expenditure  of  means  and  energy 
for  an  uncertain  result,  by  which,  to  be  sure,  the 
experimenter  may  profit,  but,  unless  the  experi- 
ment is  carried  on  in  the  quiet  of  a  laboratory,  he 
is  not  alone  benefited ;  the  observer,  who  does  not 
share  in  the  expense,  shares  in  the  benefit.  Hence, 
while  the  principle  of  self-interest  will  lead  to  ex- 
perimentation, expediency  makes  it  desirable,  in 
some  directions  at  least,  to  broaden  the  field  of 
experimentation,  and  to  make  the  results  fairly 
and  openly  accessible  to  the  whole  community. 
This  is  especially  so  where  the  use  of  a  limited 
resource,  like  the  soil,  to  its  greatest  efficiency,  is 
of  benefit  to  the  whole  of  society. 

If,  as  has  been  practically  conceded,  experimen- 
tation in  agricultural  lines  is  best  done  by  state 
institutions,  this  is  still  more  true  in  forestry  lines, 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  241 

on  account  of  the  time  element  involved  in  most 
forestry  experiments.  In  agriculture  the  answer 
to  an  inquiry  may  be  often  secured  in  inexpensive 
ways,  and  may  be  given  in  one  season ;  while  in 
forestry,  years  of  patient  waiting  and  observation, 
wholesale  methods  or  measurements,  large  areas, 
and  a  large  number  of  cases,  are  required  to 
permit  generalization.  In  both  directions  the 
activity  of  the  private  investigator  is  at  a  disad- 
vantage. To  conduct  investigations  that  must  be 
continued  for  decades,  and  in  a  large  way,  a  sys- 
tematic plan  and  organization  is  needed,  such  as 
only  a  public  institution  usually  has  at  command. 
Moreover,  comparability  of  results  can  be  secured 
only  when  uniformity  of  method  has  been  assured, 
and  this  again  is  more  hkely  secured  by  coopera- 
tion between  state  institutions,  or  even  by  the  char- 
acter and  organization  of  a  single  state  institution. 
The  advantage  of  connecting  such  experiment 
stations  with  institutions  of  learning  needs  hardly 
any  argument ;  the  mutual  increase  of  educational 
facihties  and  opportunities  is  patent.  These  edu- 
cational means  can,  of  course,  be  extended  by 
proper  methods  of  publication  of  results,  by  or- 
ganization of  meetings  for  their  discussion,  by 
so-called  university  extension,  and  finally,  by  the 
promotion  of  associations  which  have  for  their 
object  the  increase  of  application  of  knowledge  in 
the  actual  forestry  practice.  Such  associations 
give  opportunity  of  impressing  and  driving  home 


242  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

what  is  desirable  in  practice,  and  also  of  finding 
out  what  are  the  needs  of  the  private  owner,  and 
what  the  state  should  do  to  further  his  interests. 
The  state  of  Minnesota  has,  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  supported  the  efforts  of  such 
an  association  with  considerable  satisfaction  by 
yearly  appropriations.  The  countenancing  of  such 
private  endeavor  in  educational  directions  is  cer- 
tainly good  state  policy. 

A  more  direct  and  far-reaching  influence  upon 
private  activity,  still  of  an  educational  character, 
is  properly  exercised  by  the  state  in  securing  and 
publishing  statistical  information.  Statistics,  intel- 
ligently gathered  and  presented,  form  the  necessary 
basis  for  a  safe  judgment  of  existing  conditions  and 
past  progress  of  development,  and  also  for  forecast- 
ing the  future  tendencies  of  development  and  pos- 
sibly directing  its  progress ;  they  give  clews,  and 
are  guides,  not  only  for  rational  legislation,  but  also 
for  rational  conduct  of  private  business.  While 
self-interest  may  be  quite  efficient  for  the  sake  of 
private  business  use  to  ascertain  conditions  of 
supply  and  demand  in  daily,  weekly,  or  monthly 
business,  for  the  sake  of  the  prosperous  develop- 
ment of  the  community  at  large  and  of  giving 
general  direction  to  private  endeavor,  it  is  desirable 
that  a  state  institution  ascertam  periodically  the 
condition  of  a  whole  industry  and  its  relation  to 
other  industries. 

Such    ascertainment    is   done   with   satisfaction 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  243 

only  by  the  machinery  of  the  state,  which  can 
make  inquiries  uniform,  compel  answers,  and  has 
no  special  interests  to  represent  which  might 
influence  the  reliability  of  the  statements.  In 
forestry  statistics  especially,  the  difficulties  of  as- 
certaining conditions  of  supply  are  beyond  the 
capacity  of  individual  inquiry,  owing  to  the  com- 
plicated nature  of  the  object  of  inquiry.  If  there 
is  difficulty  in  determining  quantity  and  value  of 
standing  merchantable  timber,  which  is  within  the 
actual  vision  of  the  estimater,  how  much  more 
difficulty  must  be  found  in  judging  the  prospec- 
tive quantity  and  value  of  the  unperfected  crop, 
the  promise  of  the  future ;  and  this  is  the  essen- 
tial knowledge  upon  which  is  to  be  based,  private 
as  well  as  state  activity  with  reference  to  this 
resource. 

We  may  only  briefly  indicate  what  kind  of  sta- 
tistical knowledge  would  be  desirable  in  order 
merely  "to  direct  public  policy.^ 

In  the  well-ordered  state  the  soils  most  fit  for 
agriculture  should  be  devoted  to  systematic  food 
production,  but  just  so  should  the  non-agricultural 
soils,  the  absolute  forest  soils,  be  devoted  to  the  sys- 
tematic production  of  wood-crops  ;  moreover,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  forest  in  certain  situations  exercises 
a  potent  influence  on  cultural  conditions.     Hence 

1  For  a  fuller  discussion  see  "  Considerations  in  gathering  For- 
estry Statistics,"  by  the  author,  in  Quarterly  Publications  of  the 
American  Statistical  Association,  1898. 


244  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY. 

the  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  forest  area  of  a 
country  is  by  itself  meaningless ;  the  character  of 
the  soil  the  forest  occupies,  its  topographical  loca- 
tion, and  its  relation  to  the  hydrography  of  the 
country,  must  be  known  to  permit  an  estimate  of 
cultural  conditions,  to  prognosticate  likely  change 
in  area  and  the  desirabiUty  of  interference  in  its  use. 

To  get  an  idea  of  the  amount  and  value,  present 
and  prospective,  of  the  existing  resource,  there 
must  be  known  the  composition,  i.e.  relative  occur- 
rence of  merchantable  kinds  and  conditions  as  to 
density,  age,  and  character  of  growth,  damage  by 
fire,  etc.,  and,  most  difhcult  of  all  to  ascertain,  con- 
ditions and  stages  of  development  of  the  young 
crop.  Only  forestry  experts  can  so  ascertain  such 
statistics  as  to  give  them  value.  The  other  side 
of  the  question,  market  conditions  and  statistics 
of  wood-consuming  industries,  offers  some  peculi- 
arities, but  no  difficulties. 

Furthermore,  when  forest  management  is  once 
established,  not  only  the  condition  of  the  resource, 
but  the  methods  of  its  management,  call  for  sta- 
tistical inquiry. 

In  addition  to  these  educational  methods  which 
incite  private  activity  in  the  right  direction  by  in- 
direct means,  namely,  by  increase  of  knowledge, 
there  are  more  direct  ameliorative  or  promotive 
methods  to  be  found  in  bounties  which  are  given 
to  aid  private  endeavor  in  the  pursuit  of  private 
industry. 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  245 

These  may  take  the  form  of  assisting  by  money 
gifts,  by  furnishing  plant  material,  by  giving  land 
as  in  our  timber  claim  planting,  by  making  work- 
ing plans  or  otherwise  specifically  assisting  in 
private  forest  management  beyond  the  giving  of 
general  information,  and  finally  by  tax  release  and 
tariff  duties. 

We  are  approaching  in  these  methods  closely  to 
paternalism,  when  the  state  is  doing  for  the  indi- 
vidual what  the  individual  could  or  should  do  for 
himself,  when  the  state  is  doing  more  than  provid- 
ing opportunity  for  individual  activity;  at  least 
the  danger  of  transcending  proper  policy  and 
abusing  public  interest  is  always  present  with 
these   methods. 

It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  scrutinize  much 
more  carefully  the  conditions  under  which  proper 
policy  is  subserved  by  them.  Curiously  enough, 
these  paternal  methods  have  found  much  more 
favor  and  are  more  extensively  used  in  our  coun- 
try than  in  the  European  countries,  which  are 
usually  charged  with  the  opprobrium  of  paternal- 
ism ;  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  results  have 
been  rather  disappointing,  the  advocates  of  these 
methods  continue  successfully  to  impress  their 
opinions  upon  legislatures. 

The  fact  that  these  methods  have  failed  before 
does  not,  to  be  sure,  argue  that  with  a  change  in 
conditions  and  with  more  circumspect  supervision 
they  may  not  be  employed  with  better  results,  yet 


246  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

the  past  experiences  should  serve  at  least  the  pur- 
pose of  exercising  caution  in  their  employment. 

In  the  years  1868  to  1873  a  wave  of  legislation 
for  the  encouragement  of  timber  planting,  either 
under  bounty  or  with  exemption  from  taxation,  went 
through  the  country  from  Maine  to  Nebraska,  cul- 
minating in  the  so-called  timber  culture  acts  by 
the  federal  government  in  1 873-1 874.  All  of  these 
laws  proved  practically  ineffective,  or  at  least  the 
results  were  inadequate  except  in  taking  money 
out  of  the  treasuries. 

Yet  only  in  1899  the  State  of  Indiana  revived 
the  idea  in  a  law  "for  the  encouragement  of  for- 
estry," with  an  attempt  at  specifications  which  in 
themselves  are  devoid  of  tangible  principle.  This 
law  provides  that  any  owner  may  declare  one- 
eighth  of  his  property  as  a  permanent  forest  res- 
ervation, this  portion  to  be  assessed  at  one  dollar 
per  acre,  provided  he  either  plant  and  maintain 
for  three  years,  or,  if  natural  woods,  have  on  hand, 
not  less  than  1 70  trees  per  acre ;  he  must  keep  out 
cattle,  sheep,  and  goats  until  the  trees  are  four 
inches  in  diameter;  and  whenever  any  of  the  170 
trees  die  or  are  removed,  he  must  replace  and  main- 
tain the  number  and  protect  them  until  they  are 
four  inches  in  diameter,  and  he  may  never  cut  or 
remove  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  trees  in  any  year. 

A  reference  to  the  chapters  on  "  Natural  His- 
tory of  the  Forest "  and  on  "  Silviculture "  will 
show  how  futile  and  inadequate  this  encourage- 


METHODS    OF   FOREST   POLICY.  247 

ment  of  forestry  must  prove  to  be  in  a  timbered 
state  like  Indiana. 

In  Pennsylvania,  according  to  a  legislative  act 
of  1897,  the  owner  needs  to  have  only  50  trees  to 
the  acre,  which  must,  however,  measure  at  least 
8  inches  in  diameter  6  (!)  feet  above  ground;  as 
long  as  he  keeps  these  in  sound  condition,  in  "con- 
sideration of  the  public  benefit  to  be  derived  from 
the  retention  of  forest  and  timber  trees,"  he  is  to 
have  80  per  cent  of  the  tax  on  such  lands  refunded, 
provided  that  this  be  not  more  than  45  cents  per 
acre  and  that  no  more  than  50  acres  are  entitled  to 
such  release.  From  this  last  restriction  one  would 
suppose  that  a  larger  acreage  would  not  be  a  pub- 
lic benefit;  one  fails  also  to  see  the  rationale  of 
the  other  measurements  and  numbers  required, 
nor  is  it  apparent  what  benefit  to  the  public  any 
50  acres  with  50  trees  to  the  acre  without  special 
reference  to  its  location  might  bring. 

The  timber  culture  acts  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment, which  had  in  view  the  amelioration  of  cul- 
tural conditions  in  the  treeless  territory  of  westqrn 
prairies  and  plains,  a  very  proper  concern  of  gov- 
ernment, conferred  title  to  160  acres  or  smaller 
amounts  of  the  public  domain,  if  40  acres  or  a 
proportionate  smaller  acreage  was  set  out  to  trees. 
The  crude  provisions  of  the  law  and  lack  of  proper 
supervision  led  to  its  abuse,  and  the  results  have 
been  mostly  disappointing,  leading  to  the  repeal 
of  the  law  in  1891. 


248  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

The  federal  government  also  practised  the 
method  of  furnishing  plant  material;  this  was 
done,  however,  with  inadequate  means  and  with- 
out proper  discrimination. 

The  writer  himself,  when  in  charge  of  the  For- 
estry Division,  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, was  enjoined  by  law  to  distribute  plant 
material,  and  did  so  long  enough  to  convince  him- 
self that  the  size  of  the  country  and  the  number 
of  people  with  equal  rights  to  this  bounty,  as  well 
as  the  practical  difficulties  in  handling  such  plant 
material,  which  must  necessarily  vary  in  kind 
according  to  locality,  forbid  the  practice,  or,  at 
least,  do  not  promise  adequate  results,  except  pos- 
sibly in  planting  a  few  shade  trees. 

Yet,  in  connection  with  other  methods  of  state 
action  and  with  proper  organization,  this  method 
has  proved  satisfactory  in  the  European  countries, 
namely,  when  the  state  enforces,  and,  by  techni- 
cally educated  officials,  supervises  reforestation  of 
alpine  locations,  barrens,  and  waste  places,  and 
when  the  distribution  of  plant  material  is  made, 
not  to  private  owners,  but  to  associations  and  com- 
munities, free,  or  at  cost  of  production  and  on  an 
adequate  scale.  It  may,  of  course,  under  similar 
conditions  and  with  similar  judicious  supervision, 
but  only  then,  be  employed  successfully  in  our 
country. 

Within  the  last  few  years  the  federal  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  has  inaugurated  through 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  249 

the  Forestry  Bureau  of  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture another  method  of  encouragement,  which 
is  also  practised  in  the  old  countries,  namely,  to 
give  to  private  owners  specific  advice  as  to  the 
management  of  forest  properties,  the  government 
bearing  the  larger  share  of  the  expense  of  securing 
the  data  for  these  so-called  working  plans.  But 
for  the  educational  feature  involved,  this  would  be 
a  violation  of  our  principle  that  the  state  should 
not  do  for  the  private  citizen  what  he  could  do  for 
himself.  If,  however,  the  benefit  to  be  expected 
for  the  community  at  large  is  thereby  secured,  ex- 
pediency would  lend  countenance  to  such  a  method. 
The  probability,  however,  is  that  in  the  absence  of 
an  obligation  to  follow  the  working  plan,  and  in 
the  absence  of  technical  supervision  in  its  execu- 
tion, the  results  will  be  hardly  commensurate. 

The  one  principle  under  which  the  community 
can  properly  be  called  upon  to  tax  itself  —  directly 
by  paying  bounties,  or  indirectly  by  refunding  or 
reducing  taxes  and  by  imposing  import  duties  —  in 
order  to  encourage  private  industry  is  that  the 
community  will  thereby  secure  extraordinary  bene- 
fit. But  the  benefit  must  be  specific,  demonstrable, 
adequate,  and,  moreover,  it  must  be  evident  that 
mere  private  self-interest  will  not  be  sufficient  to 
secure  incidentally  the  desired  benefit. 

The  power  of  adjusting  taxes  is  a  mighty  lever 
to  industries,  which  can  be  used  scientifically  or 
unskilfully,  for  good  or  for  evil ;  and  those  who 


250  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

advocate  the  use  of  the  taxing  power  to  encourage 
the  forestry  industry  are  perfectly  justifiable,  pro- 
vided it  is  used  in  a  reasonable  way. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  taxation  of  woodlands  is 
at  least  in  most  forested  states  of  the  Union  most 
unscientifically  appHed,  and  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  encourage  forest  destruction  and  discourage 
forest  management.  Moreover,  the  quid  pro  quo 
for  which  taxes  are  primarily  exacted,  namely,  pro- 
tection of  the  property  of  individuals,  is  most 
inadequately  performed  by  the  community. 

It  is  customary  to  assess  forest  property  by 
including  the  value  of  the  standing  merchantable 
timber ;  in  other  words,  not  only  the  apparatus 
of  production,  but  the  product  itself,  the  crop,  is 
taxed.  If  the  same  principle  were  applied  to 
agriculture,  if  the  farmer  were  not  only  assessed 
on  the  value  of  the  land,  buildings,  and  machinery, 
but  on  the  value  of  the  growing  crop  itself,  it 
would  certainly  appear  absurd,  and  discourage  him 
from  all  efforts  to  secure  the  highest  values  in  his 
crops. 

To  be  sure,  as  long  as  the  forest  crop  is  a  mere 
gift  of  nature,  bought  and  exploited  like  a  mine, 
the  crop  idea  does  not  present  itself  forcibly  ;  as 
soon,  however,  as  forest  management,  continued 
systematic  forest  crop  production,  is  contemplated 
and  practised,  a  more  equitable  principle  of  taxa- 
tion must  be  introduced,  namely,  the  assessment 
of  the  soil  alone,  the  value  being  gauged  by  its 


METHODS    OF   FOREST   POLICY.  25 1 

capacity  for  producing  the  lowest  value  of  market- 
able wood. 

But  since  the  harvest  cannot  be  secured  annually, 
since  it  must  accumulate  for  the  length  of  a  rota- 
tion before  a  return  for  the  expenditure  of  tax  and 
otherwise  comes  to  the  owner,  a  compound  interest 
calculation  on  returns  as  well  as  on  the  annual  tax 
must  be  made  to  come  to  a  rational  assessment 
rate. 

An  example  may  make  it  clear  how  an  equitable 
valuation  of  a  growing  forest  crop  could  be  made 
without  going  into  much  finesse. 

If  an  acre  produce  annually  at  the  average  rate 
of  one-half  a  cord  of  salable  wood,  and  it  takes  30 
years  before  the  crop  is  ripe  for  harvest,  and  the 
1 5  cords  then  harvested  brought  a  stumpage  value 
or  wood  leave  of  20  cents  per  cord  or  $3.00  per  acre, 
the  soil  rent  upon  which  the  assessment  should  be 
established  would  figure,  according  to  well-known 
interest  calculation  (if  a  5  per  cent  interest  rate 
,  be  acceptable  for  such  investment,  which  would 
*4)e  fair  for  the  present  time  in  many  places),  as 

J        =  aI  cents,  and  the  value  of  the  soil  as 
1.05^**-  I      ^^ 

wood  producer  under  the  conditions  named  would 

be  ^^-^  =  90  cents  per  acre. 

And  if,  as  is  usual  with  real  property,  only  60 
per  cent  of  the  value  is  taxed,  the  taxable  value  of 
such  an  acre  would  be  54  cents.     This  would  be 


252  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

fair  if  the  county  or  state  did  its  part  of  the  con- 
tract, namely,  furnished  adequate  protection  against 
fire  risk.  This  calculation  leaves  out  any  allowance 
for  cost  of  protection  and  administration,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  also  of  the  possibiHty  of  harvesting 
higher-priced  materials.  Since  it  is  usual  to  tax 
the  "wrecking  value  "  rather  than  the  true  value, 
it  would  probably  be  fair  to  assess  upon  the  assump- 
tion of  this  lowest  value  production  or  even  still 
further  reduce  the  assessment  to  allow  for  risk  and 
cost  of  protection. 

How  do  we  find  forest  property  actually  taxed .-' 
For  an  example  we  may  cite  a  definite  case 
from  Wisconsin,  a  state  where  values  are  naturally 
still  unsettled,  but  stumpage  is  probably  lower  than 
that  assumed  above.  Here,  for  an  aggregate  of 
tracts  of  hardwood  lands  from  which  the  valuable 
pine  has  been  removed,  the  taxes  for  a  number  of 
years  have  varied  from  3  cents  to  40  cents  per 
acre  a  year  without  any  reference  to  changes  in 
condition  or  value,  and  have  averaged  about  10 
cents  per  acre,  that  is  to  say,  20  to  30  per  cent  of 
what  probably  is  the  year's  production  must  be 
paid  to  the  tax  gatherer.  On  a  virgin  growth, 
with  the  pine  left,  the  taxes  were  never  below 
50  cents.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  other  property 
is  so  heavily  taxed.  It  is  a  premium  on  deforesta- 
tion, after  which  the  land,  worth  $6  to  $7  per  acre 
for  agricultural  purposes,  will  be  more  reasonably 
treated.     And   these  examples  of  irrational  taxa- 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  253 

tion  can  be  multiplied  from  every  part  of  the 
Union.  No  wonder  that  lumbermen  argue  the 
necessity  of  escaping  as  quickly  as  possible  from 
this  extortion,  and  are  discouraged  from  consider- 
ing the  advisability  of  adopting  forestry  practice, 
which  even  under  more  rational  methods  of  taxa- 
tion offers  as  yet  only  doubtful  inducements. 

Just  as  the  direct  tax  can  be  regulated  to  en- 
courage or  deter  private  enterprise,  so  tariff  legis- 
lation, as  is  well  known,  has  had  the  protective 
feature  added  to  its  fiscal  objects.  ^ 

Import  duties  have  been  designed  to  reduce  or 
deter  the  importation  of  wood  materials  and  to  en- 
courage home  industry  by  this  artificial  raising  of 
prices,  as  in  the  United  States  and  in  Germany, 
and  export  duties  have  been  placed,  as  in  Canada, 
on  raw  forest  products  in  retaliation  or  to  prevent 
reduction  of  raw  materials  and  to  insure  their  pres- 
ervation for  use  in  home  industry.  In  both  cases 
the  argument  has  been  brought  forward  that  such 
duties  encouraged  the  practice  of  forestry. 

Theoretically,  plausible  reasons  may  be  adduced 
for  such  an  expectation  ;  practically,  no  such  results 
can  be  noted.  An  increase  in  the  price  of  wood 
materials  simply  stimulates  the  forest  exploiter  to  in- 
creased effort  in  reaping  the  benefit  while  it  lasts ; 
he  pockets  the  difference,  and  the  increased  mar- 
gin only  reduces  the  necessity  of  applying  more 
economical  methods  of  utilization  until  home  com- 
petition, induced  by  the  increase  of  price,  counter- 


254  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY 

balances  the  benefit ;  and  even  then  the  effect  is 
rather  to  greater  wastefulness  in  the  exploitation, 
to  forest  destruction,  or  increase  of  effectiveness  in 
the  existing  wood-working  business,  than  to  the 
establishing  of  a  new  industry,  the  forestry  busi- 
ness. A  duty  which  prohibits  or  essentially  cur- 
tails importations,  the  demand  remaining  the  same, 
can  only  tend  to  increase  the  cut,  and  more  rapid 
decimation  of  our  own  resource. 

In  other  words,  the  encouragement  is  toward 
greater  consumption  of  existing  forest  products  as 
far  as  the  exploiter  can  bring  it  about,  rather  than 
toward  efforts  at  their  renewal. 

The  reason  is  clear,  if*  we  recall  our  discussions 
on  the  nature  of  forest  growth  and  on  the  nature 
of  the  forestry  business. 

The  larger  part  of  the  harvest  of  a  nature-grown 
wild  woods  is  inferior  material,  which  is  either 
unsalable  or  unprofitable  to  handle.  If  the  tariff, 
therefore,  stimulates  wood  consumption,  or  by  the 
exclusion  of  foreign-grown  material  necessitates  a 
larger  output  from  the  native  woods,  this  waste 
by  necessity  must  be  also  increased.  A  rational 
tariff,  which  had  in  view  the  benefit  and  conserva- 
tion of  the  natural  forest  resource,  would  put  a 
premium  on  the  importation  of  the  better  grades, 
and  would  absolutely  prohibit  the  importation  of 
the  poorer  grades,  when  the  disparity  of  poor  and 
good  grades  in  the  home  exploitation  might  be 
somewhat    alleviated,    a    closer    utilization    made 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  255 

possible,  and  at  least  conservative  lumbering  would 
appear  more  profitable. 

Export  duties,  if  placed  high  enough  to  prevent 
practical  exportation,  would  appear  a  more  rea- 
sonable method  of  influencing  exploitation ;  but 
when  we  consider  that,  for  instance  in  the  United 
States,  the  value  of  forest  products  exported  hardly 
exceeds  5  per  cent  of  the  value  represented  in 
home  consumption,  and  is  counterbalanced  to  at 
least  one-half  more  by  importations,  it  would  appear 
that  the  influence  of  an  export  duty,  at  least  for 
this  country,  could  hardly  have  any  appreciable 
effect  in  establishing  forestry  practice. 

But  all  such  devices  influence  only  the  present 
or  short  future,  while  the  interests  of  the  forestry 
business  are  in  a  distant  future.  We  must  never 
forget  that  financially  forestry  means  foregoing 
present  revenue,  or  making  present  expenditures 
for  the  sake  of  future  revenue. 

To  induce  private  owners  to  begin  such  a  con- 
servative policy  is  hardly  to  be  attained  by  tariff 
legislation,  unless  a  definite  obligation  is  laid  upon 
them  to  spend  a  part  of  the  increased  earning  in 
that  direction. 

The  case  is  entirely  different  when  a  systematic 
forestry  business  is  actually  established  and  in 
competition  with  importations  from  a  country 
where  crude  exploitation  of  virgin  forests  is  still 
practised,  which  threatens  to  make  the  home  enter- 
prise unprofitable. 


256  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

While  in  general  mercantile  business  it  may  then 
be  argued  that  the  unprofitable  business  had  best 
be  abandoned,  the  forestry  business,  as  we  have 
seen,  occupies  an  exceptional  position,  both  in  the 
time  element  required  to  secure  working  capital  of 
standing  timber  and  establish  the  systematic  in- 
dustry, and  in  its  general  cultural  significance,  so 
that,  aside  from  mercantile  considerations,  inter- 
ference from  outside  competition  is  harmful  to 
national  prosperity. 

Such  is  the  case  in  European  countries  with  well- 
established  forestry  systems,  when  brought  into 
competition  with  countries  which  are  still  mainly 
exploiting  natural  resources. 

Yet  a  prominent  writer  on  the  subject  of  import 
duties  on  wood  ^  discusses  the  influence  of  such  on 
German  forestry  as  follows  :  — 

"The  question  as  to  whether  high  prices,  espe- 
cially as  a  result  of  tariff,  encourage  to  reforestation 
and  forestry  practice  or  to  forest  devastation,  is  for 
Germany,  according  to  the  latest  statistics,  of  no 
import.  Deforestations  on  a  large  scale  and  ex- 
cessive overcutting  without  reference  to  the  future 
are  here  neither  induced  by  high  prices  nor  pre- 
vented by  low  prices,  but  are  the  regular  concom- 
itant of  general  economic  crises  and  unsound 
speculation  periods." 

The  motives  for  tariff  legislation  in  the  old 
countries  were  at  first  fiscal  ones,  then  fear  of  a 

^  Schwappach,  "  Forstpolitik,"  1894,  p.  161. 


METHODS    OF    FOREST    POLICY.  257 

timber  famine  (intelligible  by  the  absence  of  means 
of  transportation),  resulting  in  export  tariffs  as 
early  as  the  sixteenth  and  continued  through  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  To  this  mo- 
tive was  then  added  the  mercantilistic  one  of  desir- 
ing to  produce  everything  in  the  home  country, 
thus  giving  rise  to  protective  import  duties.  Fi- 
nally, the  liberation  from  these  economic  fallacies,  or 
perhaps,  I  should  say,  the  changes  in  commercial 
economic  conditions,  and  especially  the  influence 
of  railroad  building  since  i860,  led,  for  Germany 
at  least,  to  a  total  abolishment  of  all  duties  in  1865. 
Now,  however,  Germany  as  well  as  almost  all 
European  countries,  those  which  export  a  surplus 
as  well  as  the  importing  ones,  have  protective  im- 
port tariffs,  the  object  being,  as  aforesaid,  to  foster 
the  well-estabHshed  forestry  business  and  to  pro- 
tect it  against  competition  from  virgin  sources. 

In  Germany  this  protective  legislation  was 
enacted  in  1879,  when  the  opening  up  of  the  vir- 
gin woods  of  eastern  Austro-Hungary,  which  are 
simply  exploited,  not  managed,  had  brought  de- 
structive competition  to  the  forest  administrations. 

The  specific  duties  amounted  then  to  about  3 
per  cent  on  the  value  of  unmanufactured  logs  and 
timber,  and  4  per  cent  on  manufactured  lumber,  — 
.60  and  1.50  mk.  respectively  per  cubic  metre  (70 
cents  per  1000  feet  B.M.),  —  with  the  result  of  re- 
ducing importations,  of  the  latter  at  least,  by  40  per 
cent;  but  the  railroads    equalized  the   difference, 


258  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

and  in  1885  an  increase  in  duties  of  6  percent  and 
12  percent  respectively  was  inaugurated,  which,  in 
1892,  was  again  modified  and  reduced  by  special 
treaties. 

In  the  United  States  and  countries  similarly 
situated  the  problem  is  quite  a  different  one. 
Forest  management  is  not  in  existence.  Our  only 
competitor  on  the  lumber  market  is  Canada.  In 
both  countries  the  virgin  forest  is  simply  exploited  ; 
the  protection  afforded  by  a  tariff  would,  therefore, 
not  be  of  that  general  economic  import.  A  duty 
which  prohibits  or  essentially  curtails  importations, 
the  demand  remaining  the  same,  can,  as  has  been 
said,  only  tend  to  increase  the  cut  and  more  rapid 
decimation  of  our  own  resource.  A  duty  which 
does  not  prohibit  or  curtail  essentially  importations 
is  not  likely  to  benefit  the  forest,  but  only  to  reduce 
the  profit  of  the  Canadian  lumberman,  and  possibly 
to  put  a  part  of  the  difference  into  the  pocket  of 
his  American  competitor. 

The  one  promotive  action  of  the  state,  which  is 
preeminently  required  to  establish  a  proper  forest 
policy,  the  propriety  of  which  cannot  be  questioned 
for  a  moment,  and  which  arises  from  the  primary 
function  of  the  state,  its  police  function,  is  to  afford 
protection  to  forest  property,  at  least  equal  to  that 
afforded  to  any  other  property  and  adequate  to  the 
peculiarities  and  needs  of  such  forest  property. 

Such  protection  is  the  unquestioned  right  of  the 
forest  owner,  and  without  it  he  cannot  be  expected 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  259 

to  maintain  a  "  sustained  yield  "  management  which 
requires  maintenance  of  a  large  wood  capital  sub- 
ject to  depredations  and  to  destruction  by  fires 
unless  properly  guarded. 

Forestry  as  a  business  is  practicable,  nay,  think- 
able, only  under  the  assumption  of  civilized,  stable 
conditions,  and  the  first  requisite  of  civilization  is 
reasonable  safety  of  property. 

There  are,  to  be  sure,  especially  in  only  partly 
developed  countries  or  sections  of  country,  special 
difficulties  in  enforcing  laws  and  preventing  crime  ; 
nevertheless,  the  obligation  of  the  state  is  to  make 
an  adequate  effort. 

It  is  not  sufficient  for  the  state  to  legislate,  but, 
at  least  wherever  broad  communal  interests  are  at 
stake,  it  must  provide  the  machinery  to  carry  out 
this  legislation.  The  impotency  of  the  laws  de- 
signed to  prevent  forest  fires  is  too  well  known 
to  need  comment.  In  this  respect,  in  poHce  organ- 
ization and  the  proper  means  of  executing  the  laws 
and  of  preventing  damage,  even  the  states  which 
have  attempted  to  remedy  the  evil  of  forest  fires  are 
wofully  backward.  We  can  learn  from  Canada 
and  from  the  British  India  forest  department,  how 
a  large  amount  of  this  damage  can  be  prevented, 
even  in  countries  which  as  yet  lack  a  systematic, 
thoroughly  estabhshed  forestry  system.  Such  pro- 
tection is  a  conditio  sine  qua  non,  the  first  step 
to  a  state  forest  poHcy,  and  the  beginning  of  for- 
estry practice. 


26o  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

Our  present  conditions  in  that  respect  discour- 
age, and  rightly  so,  all  efforts  to  provide  for  future 
crops,  and  encourage  rapid  exploitation  in  order  to 
secure  the  value  of  the  existing  crop  before  the  fire 
has  swept  it  away. 

The  principles  most  needful  to  keep  in  view 
when  formulating  legislation  for  protection  against 
forest  fires  ^  are  :  — 

(i)  A  well-organized  machinery  for  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  laws  must  be  provided,  in  which  the 
state  must  be  prominently  represented,  since  the 
damage  done  by  forest  fires  extends  in  many  cases 
far  beyond  immediate  private  and  personal  loss. 

(2)  Responsibility  for  the  execution  of  the  law 
must  be  clearly  defined,  and  must  ultimately  rest 
upon  one  person,  an  officer  of  the  state ;  but  every 
facility  for  ready  prosecution  of  offenders  must  be 
at  command  of  the  responsible  officer. 

(3)  None  but  paid  officials  can  be  expected  to 
do  efficient  service,  and  financial  responsibility  in 
all  directions  must  be  recognized  as  alone  produc- 
tive of  care  in  the  performance  of  duties,  as  well  as 
in  obedience  to  regulations. 

(4)  Recognition  of  common  interest  in  the  pro- 
tection of  this  kind  of  property  can  come  only  by 
a  reasonable  distribution  of  financial  liability  for 
loss  between  the  state  and  local  community  and 
the  owners  themselves. 

Only  when  the  state  has  made  ample  and  reason- 
1  See  Appendix  for  draft  of  a  forest  fire  law. 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  261 

ably  efficient  provisions  to  protect  forest  property 
may  the  community  impose  obligations  upon  the 
owner  and  restrict  him  in  the  use  of  his  property, 
so  that  the  protection  can  be  made  reasonably 
practicable ;  and  only  then  and  for  such  purpose 
may  regulations  in  the  use  of  the  property,  inter- 
ference by  the  state  in  its  unrestricted  manage- 
ment, be  adjudged  admissible  even  in  those 
forests  which  we  have  designated  as  supply  for- 
ests, i.e.  those  which  have  mainly  or  only  an  indus- 
trial and  commercial  significance.  In  other  words, 
we  conceive  as  a  primary  condition  for  the  apphca- 
tion  of  restrictive  measures,  in  the  use  of  private 
property,  that  the  state  furnish  a  quid  pro  quo,  a 
compensation,  direct  or  indirect. 

It  has  frequently  been  proposed  in  the  United 
States  to  force  the  lumberman  to  burn  his  debris 
in  order  to  reduce  the  fire  danger.  This  prescrip- 
tion may  be  practicable  and  expedient  in  some 
cases,  but  not  in  others ;  in  its  generality  it  would 
be  both  impracticable  and  inexpedient,  unless 
specific  precautions  and  supervision  accompany 
it,  as  pointed  out  on  pp.  188  ff.  Here  also  the 
practical  objection  would  be  properly  raised  that, 
unless  all  the  states,  or  at  least  a  group  of  states 
under  similar  conditions,  exact  such  precaution,  the 
lumberman's  industry  in  the  one  state  which  ex- 
acts it  would  be  placed  at  a  disadvantage  as  com- 
pared with  the  neighboring  state  which  neglects 
it.     In  such  case,  it  would  appear  equitable  that 


262  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

at  least  part  of  the  burden  should  be  borne  by  the 
state  or  local  community. 

In  European  countries  the  existence  of  well- 
organized  state  forest  administrations  renders  the 
execution  of  legislation  for  the  protection  of  forest 
properties  much  easier,  since  there  is  a  machinery 
of  officials  whose  functions  can  be  readily  extended. 

These  officials,  as  well  as  those  employed  by 
private  owners  under  prescribed  conditions,  are 
under  oath,  uniformed,  and  endowed  with  sheriffs' 
power,  and  can,  therefore,  act  readily.  Even  the 
forest  owner  has,  in  Prussia,  the  right  to  call  out 
assistance  to  fight  fires,  which  assistance  is  obliga- 
tory on  every  citizen.  » 

Curiously  enough,  regarding  property  rights,  the 
mediaeval  idea,  that  the  forest  is  more  or  less  com- 
mon property  ("  quia  non  res  possessa,  sed  de  lig?to 
agitiir''),  dominates  still  the  modern  laws  of  Europe, 
which  look  with  more  leniency  upon  depredations 
on  forest  property  than  upon  other  common  theft, 
and  the  proceedings  and  amount  and  character  of 
punishment  are  also  special.  Among  the  latter 
obligatory  work  in  the  forest  is  a  significant  one. 
But  the  punishment  for  incendiaries  is  so  much 
severer.  The  German  code  makes  wilful  incendi- 
arism punishable  by  penitentiary  up  to  ten  years, 
and  negligent  incendiarism  by  prison  up  to  one 
year.  Railroad  companies  are  obliged  to  main- 
tain safety  strips  as  described  on  p.  194,  and  are 
enjoined  to  take  other  precautions. 


METHODS   OF    FOREST    POLICY.  263 

With  the  efficiency  of  the  state  organization  in 
protecting  forest  properties  comes  also  the  in- 
creased ability  of  the  private  interest  to  help  itself, 
and  finally  the  propositions  for  a  forest  fire  insur- 
ance on  the  principle  of  mutuality,  such  as  have 
been  lately  ventilated,  especially  in  the  Prussian 
province  of  Hanover  and  in  Saxony,  may  become 
practicable. 

As  we  have  seen  in  the  chapter  on  silviculture, 
there  are,  besides  the  fire  danger,  insect  pests  and 
wind-storms  to  be  feared,  and  hence  they  call  for 
measures  of  a  police  character.  To  insure  against 
excessive  damage  by  insects,  co5peration  on  the 
part  of  private  owners  may  be  enforced,  as  is  done 
in  most  German  states.  To  protect  a  neighboring 
forest  against  windfalls,  the  removal  of  the  adja- 
cent forest  growth  is  prevented  in  Austria,  a  rather 
doubtful  exercise  of  restrictive  functions. 

Generally  speaking,  restrictions  and  supervision 
of  private  forest  industry  have  proved  themselves 
mostly  undesirable  and  impracticable ;  their  only 
justification  would  appear  when  protection  of 
neighboring  properties  or  of  general  communal 
interests  demonstrably  require  them. 

The  mediaeval  attempts  at  legislation  which  for- 
estry reformers  in  the  United  States  have  made 
or  proposed,  in  their  mistaken  belief  that  the  old 
countries  furnish  a  precedent,  namely,  restricting 
private  owners  in  the  size  of  trees  which  they  may 
be  allowed  to  cut,  or  requiring  them  to  plant  a 


264  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

tree  for  every  one  cut,  will  appear  rather  ludi- 
crous to  those  who  have  read  the  three  preceding 
chapters. 

How  averse  even  European  governments  are  to 
restrictive  measures  may  be  learned  from  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  Prussian  law  works ;  where  only 
minor  local  interests  are  at  stake,  the  prin- 
ciple ^^  de  minimis  non  curat  prcBtor'^  prevails. 
Whenever  a  property  owner  thinks  or  fears  that 
the  mismanagement  of  his  neighbor's  property  is 
endangering  his  own  property  he  may  call  for  a 
jury  to  view  the  case,  and  the  state  will  interfere 
according  to  the  verdict,  either  forbidding  absolute 
clearing,  or  prescribing  the  manner  in  which  the 
property  may  be  utilized ;  the  loss  which,  if  any, 
may  accrue  to  the  forest  owner  from  this  curtail- 
ment of  the  free  exercise  of  property  rights  may 
be  assessed  on  the  complainant  who  is  benefited, 
as  well  as  the  cost  of  proceedings. 

For  fiscal  reasons  only,  a  supervision  over  the 
management  of  forest  properties  belonging  to 
communities,  villages,  and  cities  is  exercised  on 
the  same  principle  which  is  applied  in  preventing 
communities  from  incurring  debts  beyond  certain 
limits  determined  by  the  state.  This  supervision 
consists  usually  in  the  requirement  that  no  perma- 
nent clearing  be  made  without  special  permission, 
that  the  plans  of  management  be  submitted  for 
sanction  by  the  government,  and  that  approved 
skilled  foresters  be  employed. 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  265 

Wherever  else  supervision  or  interference  with 
the  free  exercise  of  property  rights  exists  on  the 
part  of  the  state,  it  is  not  based  on  questions  of 
supply,  but  of  protection  to  threatened  interests 
of  some  magnitude. 

In  this  respect,  as  we  have  seen,  forest  property 
assumes  a  peculiar  position. 

The  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  removal  of 
the  protecting  forest  cover  may  give  rise  to  shift- 
ing sands  and  sand  dunes,  which  may  encroach 
and  despoil  larger  areas  beyond,  is  sufficient  call 
for  the  exercise  of  the  police  functions  of  the  state 
to  prevent  such  damage,  if  we  admit  the  providen- 
tial character  of  such  functions. 

The  experience  that  the  deforestation  or  even 
bad  management  of  the  forest  cover,  forest  devas- 
tation, on  mountain  tops  and  hills,  leads  to  exces- 
sive water  stages,  to  destructive  floods,  filHng 
channels,  thereby  impeding  navigation  and  silting 
agricultural  soils,  damaging  neighboring  or  dis- 
tant interests,  again  makes  the  exercise  of  the 
police  function  of  the  state,  in  the  wider  sense  in 
which  I  have  defined  it,  necessary  in  order  to 
prevent  the  consequences  of  mismanagement  of 
the  protective  forest  cover  in  such  particular 
situations. 

The  sugar  planter  in  Louisiana,  whose  crop  is 
endangered  or  destroyed  by  overflows  due  to 
causes  a  thousand  miles  away,  has  a  right  to  pro- 
tection through  the  government.     The  city  mer- 


266  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

chant,  the  mechanic,  the  laborer,  the  professional 
man,  are  either  directly  or  indirectly  interested  in 
the  success  of  the  agriculturist,  and  hence  what- 
ever disturbs  the  peaceful  prosecution  of  the  busi- 
ness of  the  latter  is  a  matter  that  affects  everybody 
and  calls  for  public  concern.  He  who  is  in  safety 
is  as  sure  to  feel  the  losses  as  he  who  is  directly 
in  the  path  of  the  flood.  Hence  we  should  con- 
sider the  protection  of  our  watersheds  as  much  a 
national  problem  as  the  improvement  of  our  water- 
ways, and  even  more  so. 

No  new  functions  are  called  into  play,  simply 
the  primary  function  of  all  government,  the  police 
function,  only  extended  according  to  our  present 
knowledge  of  the  relations  of  things. 

Logically,  to  be  sure,  if  it  is  once  admitted  that 
the  state  is  justified  in  preventing  the  mismanage- 
ment of  a  property,  when  by  such  mismanagement 
damage  is  inflicted  upon  neighbors,  the  further 
suggestion  lies  near,  that  it  may  enforce  the  plac- 
ing in  proper  condition  of  a  property  which  in  its 
improper  condition  is  a  menace  to  other  interests. 
Here,  however,  the  innocence  of  the  owner  in  the 
creation  of  these  unfavorable  conditions  may  mod- 
ify the  aspect  of  things,  and  we  must  appeal  from 
the  police  function  to  the  wider  sociaHstic  function 
which  imposes  upon  the  state  the  duty,  not  only 
to  maintain  social  existence,  but  to  assist  social 
progress  by  cooperation,  or,  as  Lester  F.  Ward 
puts  it,  "to   render  harmless  those  forces  which 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  267 

now  seem  to  be  working  evil,  and  to  render  useful 
those  now  running  to  waste." 

In  this  way  we  come  to  the  function  of  internal 
improvement.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  princi- 
ples have  found  expression  in  the  forest  policies 
of  various  European  nations,  as  we  shall  see  in  the 
next  chapter. 

The  forcible  reforestation  of  denuded  mountain 
slopes  by  the  owners  with  the  financial  aid  of  the 
state,  as  carried  on  in  France,  Italy,  Switzerland, 
and  Austria,  is  an  admission  of  this  double  obliga- 
tion, namely,  that  of  the  owner  to  keep  his  prop- 
erty in  proper  condition  and  that  of  the  state  to 
secure  internal  improvement.  Such  improvements, 
to  be  sure,  must  be  palpably  of  public  benefit  and 
not  of  advantage  to  individual  interests  only;  where 
forest  growth  would  be  simply  useful,  the  state  may 
employ  ameliorative  measures,  indirectly  encourag- 
ing private  enterprise,  but  where  a  forest  growth 
is  indispensable  to  the  public  welfare,  its  duty  is 
farther  reaching,  and  coercion  or  other  interference 
is  called  for.  It  will  appear  at  once  that  the  dis- 
tinction is  one  which  must  be  made  in  each  individ- 
ual case.  The  adequacy  of  the  interest  for  which 
the  state  enters  must  be  apparent. 

As  to  the  methods  and  manner  of  applying  these 
principles,  a  variety  may  be  suggested.  The  de- 
termination as  to  the  protective  quality  and  neces- 
sity of  maintaining  the  forest  property  as  such,  and 
the  quality  of  the  state's  interference,  may  be  pre- 


268  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

scribed  generally,  as  in  the  law  of  Italy,  or  specifi- 
cally in  each  case,  as  in  the  law  of  Bavaria.  The 
interference  may  consist  in  simply  forbidding  an 
absolute  clearing,  or  else  prescribing  the  manner 
in  which  the  property  may  be  utilized. 

Where,  on  account  of  the  smallness  of  separate 
holdings,  a  good  forest  management  could  not  be 
maintained,  coercive  cooperation,  the  management 
of  all  the  parcels  as  a  unit,  may  recommend  itself, 
or  else  the  state,  having  a  well-officered  forest 
administration,  may  undertake  the  management 
for  the  owner,  at  least  for  a  time.  Where  refor- 
estation becomes  necessary,  it  has  usually  been 
recognized  incumbent  upon  the  state  either  to  re- 
imburse, or  at  least  to  assist  and  alleviate,  the  bur- 
den of  reforestation  by  relieving  from  taxation,  for 
a  given  time,  the  land  to  be  reforested,  as  is  done 
in  France  for  thirty  years,  and  in  Austria  for 
twenty-five  years,  or  by  the  granting  of  bounties  on 
plantations,  as  practised  in  Austria  and  Prussia  and 
also  in  the  United  States.  Or  else  supplies  of 
plant  material  have  been  granted,  or  part  of  the 
cost  of  planting  is  borne  by  the  state,  or  else  loans 
at  low  interest  have  been  given  to  ease  the  burden 
of  replanting.  This  very  judicious  assistance  was 
given  by  the  province  of  Hanover  during  the  years 
1877  to  1883  ;  in  order  to  encourage  the  planting 
of  the  Luneburg  heath,  the  sum  of  nearly  $100,000 
was  loaned  to  nine  associations,  ten  cities,  and 
thirty-one  private  landowners,  by  means  of  which 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  269 

about  ten  thousand  acres  of  this  hitherto  barren 
and  almost  useless  part  of  the  province  became 
productive. 

Finally,  however,  it  will  be  found  that  control 
and  supervision  of  private  property  is  an  unsatis- 
factory, expensive,  and  only  partially  effective 
method  of  securing  conservative  forest  manage- 
ment, where  the  necessity  of  maintaining  a  forest 
growth  may  exist  and  the  financial  margin  that  can 
be  had  from  it  is  but  small.  Experience  in  the 
old  countries  has  shown  that,  in  spite  of  the  much 
more  perfect  machinery  for  enforcing  laws,  and  in 
spite  of  the  much  more  ready  disposition  to  sub- 
mit to  laws,  than  we  are  accustomed  to  see  in 
this  country,  the  attempts  to  control  private  prop- 
erty have  been  largely  without  the  desired  result. 
It  then  becomes  preferable  for  the  community  to 
own  and  manage  such  forest  areas. 

Such  ownership  may  rest  either  in  the  state  or 
else  in  the  county,  the  town,  or  other  political  sub- 
division which  seems  most  nearly  interested  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  protective  cover.  To  obtain 
possession,  if  it  cannot  be  had  by  purchase,  the 
necessity  of  exercising  eminent  domain  may  arise. 
Such  eminent  domain  is  now  exercised  in  most 
civilized  states  where  public  objects,  public  safety, 
or  public  utility  require  it;  usually,  however,  the 
objects  for  which  this  power  may  be  called  into 
requisition  are  definitely  stated  by  law. 

If  the  question  of  protection  of  forests  be  once 


270  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

recognized  as  of  importance  to  the  general  welfare, 
there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  declared 
by  law  to  justify  the  exercise  of  this  power.  And 
while  usually  the  right  to  expropriation  is  reserved 
to  the  state,  and  presumably  the  objects  are  sup- 
posed to  be  an  advantage  to  the  whole,  there  can  be 
no  logical  reason  why  this  right  may  not  be  exer- 
cised for  any  parts  of  the  state,  or  for  any  consid- 
erable portion  of  the  community,  provided  the 
interest  to  be  subserved  is  communal  and  not  indi- 
vidual. Where  the  interests  are  of  less  range  or 
significance,  the  maxim  '' de  miiiimis  non  curat 
prcBtor'"  may  place  the  matter  in  that  class  of 
cases  which  must  be  adjusted  by  appeal  to  jury 
and  by  simple  police  regulation,  as  provided  by  the 
Prussian  law. 

In  practice  the  expropriation  of  forest  property 
as  a  protective  measure  has  found  expression  in 
France,  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  Austria. 

In  France,  according  to  the  law  of  i860,  private 
woodlands  could  be  expropriated  when  the  owners 
refused  to  reforest  or  keep  in  forest,  but  restitution 
could  be  demanded  within  five  years ;  this  very 
improper  clause  was  abolished  in  1882. 

In  Switzerland  the  canton  is  empowered  to,  and 
at  the  request  of  the  owner  must,  expropriate. 

In  Italy  the  state,  province,  or  community  can 
exercise  this  right  for  the  purpose  of  reforesting 
slopes  to  secure  stable  soil  conditions  and  to 
regulate  waterflow. 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  27 1 

In  Austria  a  limited  right  to  expropriate  exists 
at  the  instance  of  the  owner  who  cannot  or  does 
not  desire  to  submit  to  regulations. 

We  may  now  summarize  briefly  the  results  of 
this  discussion. 

A  rational  forest  policy  requires  a  distinction 
into  supply  forests  and  protection  forests. 

The  former  may  be  largely  left  to  the  free 
exercise  of  private  enterprise,  the  state  affording 
only  the  general  protection  accorded  all  property, 
and  also  the  more  specific  protection  which  the 
pecuharities  of  forest  property  demand. 

In  addition,  the  educational  functions  of  govern- 
ment may  be  called  into  play  by  giving  opportu- 
nity to  acquire  the  needed  technical  knowledge, 
and  such  other  ameliorative  action  may  be  resorted 
to  as  will  assist  and  make  possible  a  conservative 
management  of  forest  property.  This  action  is  of 
more  import  in  the  forest  industry  than  in  other 
industries,  because  of  its  peculiarities,  as  pointed 
out.  In  certain  given  cases,  temporary  exemption 
from  taxation,  supplies  of  plant  material,  or  better, 
financial  assistance,  may  prove  beneficial  when 
the  low  rate  of  interest  which  the  state  commands 
will  benefit  the  forest  owner  and  enable  him  to 
reforest  waste  places,  while  tariff  legislation,  as 
far  as  it  is  to  protect  not  exploitation,  but  to  make 
possible  a  conservative  forest  management,  may 
become  necessary.  Ownership  of  portions  of  the 
forest   resource   by   the   state,  either   as   a    fiscal 


2/2  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

measure,  or,  with  much  better  reason,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  equahzing  forest  suppUes  and  also  for 
educational  reasons,  may  be  extended  to  supply 
forests,  but  probably  these  objects  can  be  attained 
by  the  ownership  of  protection  forests  alone. 

In  the  case  of  protection  forests  the  degree  and 
extent  of  their  influence  must  determine  the  qual- 
ity of  state  control.  The  police  function,  either  in 
its  restricted  sense  or  else  extended  in  its  meaning 
to  assume  a  providential  character,  Hes  at  the  base 
of  such  control.  Interference  in  or  control  of 
private  forest  management  may  suffice  in  cases 
where  merely  individual  interests  must  be  protected. 
Financial  assistance  and  partial  assumption  of 
costs  may  be  the  proper  policy  where  internal  im- 
provement is  sought,  where  unavoidable  disasters 
are  to  be  remedied,  or  where  the  interests  of  the 
community  must  be  protected  and  the  owners  are 
not  able  to  comply  with  the  requirements.  Where 
far-reaching  communal  interests  require  the  main- 
tenance of  a  forest  cover  and  its  conservative 
management,  especially  on  poor  mountain  soil, 
sand-dunes,  etc.,  the  ownership  by  the  community, 
the  state,  or  smaller  subdivision  becomes  unavoid- 
able, since  they  can  afford  to  forego  revenue  on 
the  investment  and  manage  with  the  single  view 
to  the  general  welfare. 

The  freedom  of  private  forest  ownership  has  in 
Germany,  and  especially  in  Prussia,  led  not  only  to 
forest  dismemberment  and  forest  devastation,  but 


METHODS   OF   FOREST   POLICY.  273 

also  to  inconsiderate  clearing.  On  good  soils  this 
clearing  may  lead  to  something  permanently  better ; 
on  mediocre  and  poor  soils  the  result  has  been 
that  agriculture,  after  the  fertility  stored  up  by 
the  forest  is  exhausted,  impoverishes  the  deluded 
farmer.  These  soils  are  now  utterly  ruined  wastes, 
and  can  be  made  useful  by  reforestation  only. 

Finally,  when  the  ideal,  the  socialistic,  coopera- 
tive, most  highly  organized  state  will  have  de- 
veloped, the  policy  will  be  that  the  community  shall 
own  or  control  and  devote  to  forest  crops  all  the 
poorest  soils  and  sites,  leaving  only  the  agricul- 
tural soils  and  pastures  to  private  enterprise. 


CHAPTER   X. 

FOREST  POLICIES   OF  FOREIGN   NATIONS. 

The  conditions  which  a  hundred  years  ago  in- 
fluenced the  pohcies  of  European  nations  in  regard 
to  their  forest  pohcies,  —  namely,  the  necessity  of 
looking  out  for  continuance  of  domestic  supplies  — 
have  long  ago  changed.  At  that  time  the  fuel 
question  was  still  the  important  one,  for  coal  had 
not  yet  become  an  established  substitute,  and,  in 
the  absence  of  railroad  transportation,  home  sup- 
phes  were  a  necessity. 

The  many  ordinances  and  laws,  therefore,  which 
attempted  to  assure  continued  home  supplies  have 
fallen  into  disuse,  although  the  desirability  of  foster- 
ing home  production  and  of  securing  the  advantages 
of  a  general  economic  character  which  come  from 
forest  management  —  notably  the  employment  of 
labor  in  winter  time,  which  the  forest  industries 
offer  —  have  still  an  influence  upon  the  policy  of 
governments,  or  are  at  least  academically  discussed 
as  properly  establishing  a  government  interest  even 
with  regard  to  supply  forests. 

In  the  main,  however,  the  state  forest  policies 
of  the  European  governments  are  based  upon  the 
274 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS.       275 

protective  value  of  the  forest  cover,  and  the  recog- 
nition that  private  interest  cannot  be  expected  or 
is  insufficient  to  secure  proper  regard  to  this  feature 
in  its  treatment  of  forest  areas. 

It  cannot  be  said,  however,  that  a  finally  settled 
policy  exists  in  any  of  the  states,  not  even  in 
Germany,  but  only  that  it  is  in  a  highly  advanced 
stage  of  formation,  with  the  tendency  of  increasing 
governmental  interference. 

All  the  various  methods  of  giving  expression  to 
state  interest  are  employed ;  the  educational  func- 
tion, the  police  function,  and  finally  state  owner- 
ship, being  brought  into  use. 

State  ownership  of  forest  areas,  which  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  century  began  to  decrease  under  the 
influence  and  misapplication  of  Adam  Smith's  teach- 
ing and  the  doctrine  of  individual  rights,  urged  to 
its  extreme  consequences  after  the  French  Rev- 
olution, is  now  on  the  increase.  Thus  Fj^ance, 
during  and  after  the  Revolution  taking  the  lead  in 
this  dismemberment  of  the  forest  property,  which 
the  monarchy  had  maintained  (then  nearly  12  mill- 
ion acres),  sold  during  the  years  1791  to  1795  nearly 
one-half  of  the  state  forests,  and  continued  to  reduce 
the  area  until  there  remained  in  1874  but  one-fifth 
of  the  original  holdings.  Since  then  a  reversal  of 
the  poUcy  has  been  in  practice,  the  area  of  state 
holdings  is  being  increased,  besides  financial  as- 
sistance in  reforesting  on  a  large  scale  being  given 
to  private  owners  and  communities. 


2/6  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

In  the  budget  for  1902,  of  ^2,800,000  appro- 
priated for  the  state  forest  department,  $1,000,000 
was  set  aside  for  the  extension  of  state  forests 
and  necessary  improvements  in  those  now  existing. 
The  state  now  owns  about  2,800,000  acres, —  some- 
what less  than  12  per  cent  of  the  total  forest  area, — 
managed  by  a  staff  of  700  officials  and  protected 
by  3500  guards. 

In  addition,  private  forest  property  is  absolutely 
controlled  as  regards  clearing ;  no  clearing  may  be 
done  without  notice  to  the  government  authorities, 
and  in  the  mountain  districts  not  without  special 
sanction  by  the  same. 

This  control  is  especially  stringent  with  refer- 
ence to  the  holdings  of  village  and  city  corporations, 
which  represent  over  27  per  cent  of  the  forest  area. 
These  must  submit  their  plans  of  management  to 
the  state  forest  department  for  approval,  and  are 
debarred  from  dividing  their  property,  thus  insur- 
ing continuity  of  ownership  and  conservative  man- 
agement. 

The  necessity  for  such  control  became  apparent 
in  the  first  quarter  of  the  century,  when,  as  a 
consequence  of  reckless  denudation  in  the  Alps, 
Cevennes,  and  Pyrenees,  whole  communities  be- 
came impoverished  by  the  torrents  which  destroyed 
and  silted  over  the  fertile  lands  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains.  Some  8,000,000  acres  of  once  fertile 
soil  in  twenty  departments  were  involved  in  these 
disastrous  consequences  of  forest  destruction  on 


FOREST    POLICIES    OF   FOREIGN    NATIONS.       277 

over  1,000,000  acres  of  mountain  slopes.  The  work 
of  recovery  was  begun  under  the  laws  of  i860  and 
1864,  and  a  revised  law,  the  reboisement  act,  of  1882. 
Under  this  law  the  state  buys  and  recuperates  the 
land,  or  else  forces  communities  or  private  owners 
to  do  so  with  financial  aid  from  the  government. 

Since  the  operation  of  this  law  the  state  has 
spent  in  purchases  of  worn-out  lands,  in  works  to 
check  the  torrents  and  in  reforesting,  nearly  $20,000,- 
000,  not  including  subventions  to  communities  and 
private  owners.  It  is  estimated  that  more  than 
$30,000,000  more  will  have  to  be  expended  before 
the  area  which  the  state  possesses  or  will  possess, 
probably  some  800,000  acres  in  all,  will  be  restored. 

The  work  of  fixation  of  sand-dunes,  which  has 
occupied  the  attention  of  foresters  in  all  states 
bordering  the  sea-coast,  has  been  prominent  in 
France  since  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, especially  in  the  Department  of  the  Gironde, 
where  during  the  years  1802  to  1864  a  round 
;^300,ooo  were  spent  in  cooperation  between  the 
state,  the  municipal  corporations,  and  private  own- 
ers to  fix  the  250,000  acres  of  sand-dunes  and  turn 
them  into  pine  forest,  which  now,  together  with 
1,500,000  acres  of  forest  planted  in  its  protection 
during  the  last  century,  yields  a  constant  revenue 
and  occupation  for  the  poor  population. 

A  state  forestry  school  at  Nancy  educates  the 
ofificers,  and  is  among  the  best  on  the  Continent. 

England,  in  the  home  country,   has  had  little 


2/8  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

need  of  a  forest  policy  on  account  of  its  insular 
position  and  topography,  although  one-quarter  of 
the  country  is  waste,  on  which  it  would  pay  to 
cultivate  wood-crops.  It  imports  nearly  all  its 
needed  wood  suppHes  with  over  ^100,000,000.  Of 
the  3,000,000  acres  of  woodlands,  mostly  devoted 
to  purposes  of  the  chase  or  to  parks,  2  per  cent  are 
state  forests,  and  so  encumbered  with  rights  of 
adjoining  commoners  as  pasture  or  for  wood  sup- 
plies that  no  rational  management  is  possible. 
But  in  India  there  is  a  well-organized  state  forest 
administration,  and  the  government  there  exercises 
itself  also  in  promoting  private  forestry.  The 
policy  here  differs  from  those  in  existence  on  the 
Continent  of  Europe,  in  that  it  is  based  on  the  sup- 
ply question  rather  than  the  protective  value  of 
the  forest  cover. 

In  the  past  the  native  people  of  India,  as  far  as 
known,  never  realized  the  importance  of  their  for- 
ests. They  were  mostly  more  or  less  common 
property,  or  else  belonged  to  the  rajas.  They  were 
cleared,  destroyed,  mutilated  at  all  times  and  in  all 
places,  and  the  use  of  wood  seems  never  to  have 
formed  an  important  factor  in  Hindoo  civilization. 

With  the  advent  of  foreign  commerce,  exploita- 
tion for  the  more  valuable  export  timbers  received 
a  new  stimulus,  and  the  forests  were  culled  regard- 
less of  the  future  either  of  forest  or  people.  This 
exploitation  was  aggravated  by  the  construction 
of  railways,  which,  in  themselves  large  consumers, 


FOREST    POLICIES    OF    FOREIGN    NATIONS.       279 

also  offered  a  premium  on  all  that  contributed  to 
increased  traffic.  When  at  last  it  was  noticed 
that  the  demands  of  timber  for  pubhc  works  in 
some  localities  could  no  longer  be  supplied  without 
costly  transportation,  the  matter  received  the  tardy 
public  attention. 

The  present  effective  organization  of  a  forest 
department  and  forestry  service,  covering  now  a 
forest  property  of  nearly  240,000  square  miles, 
was  established  under  the  guidance  of  German 
thought  and  German  methods,  and  for  nearly  half 
a  century  the  heads  of  the  state  forest  department 
were  German  foresters.^ 

Although  the  conditions  surrounding  the  prob- 
lems of  the  Indian  forest  department  are  quite  dis- 
similar from  those  with  which  we  have  to  deal  in 
our  country,  it  will  nevertheless  be  of  interest,  and 
suggestive  for  our  own  efforts  in  establishing  for- 
estry practice,  to  give  some  space  to  a  brief  account 
of  what  has  been  established  in  India. 

In  1859,  Dr.  (now  Sir)  Dietrich  Brandis  was 
appointed  superintendent  of  forests  for  Pegu ;  in 
1862  he  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  organiz- 
ing a  forest  department  for  all  India,  and  in  1865 
he  was  appointed  the  first  inspector-general  for 
the  forests  of  India  under  the  first  Indian  Forest 
Act.  During  the  forty  years  of  its  existence  this 
department  has  steadily  and  rapidly  grown  in  the 

^  Refer  to  the  excellent  account  of  this  movement  in  C.  Ribben- 
trop,  "Forestry  in  British  India,"  Calcutta,  1900,  245  pp.,  Svo. 


28o  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

area  managed,  the  number  of  men  employed,  and 
the  revenue  derived  for  the  state.  In  1898  this 
forestry  department  had  control  of  about  90,900 
square  miles  of  forest,  nearly  half  of  all  the  for- 
ests, and  about  10  per  cent  of  the  entire  area  of 
India.  Of  these  state  forests,  nearly  82,000  square 
miles  are  "  reserve "  or  permanent  state  forests, 
while  the  rest  are  held  as  "protected"  and  "  un- 
classed,"  and  will  become  reserve  or  permanent 
forests  as  fast  as  the  necessary  surveys  and  settle- 
ment can  be  made. 

The  area  of  protected  reserved  forests  is  con- 
stantly varying,  for  although  new  areas  are  taken 
up,  others  are  changed  into  reserves.  About 
28,000  square  miles  of  forest  property  of  the  em- 
pire remain  still  unclassed.  On  page  1 14  we  have 
given  an  account  of  the  personnel  required  in  the 
management  of  this  largest  and  youngest  forest 
department  of  the  world  and  its  financial  results. 

More  than  half  of  India  lies  within  the  Tropics, 
and  over  60  per  cent  is  farther  south  than  New 
Orleans,  the  latitude  of  which  is  30°.  From  this 
it  is  apparent  that  the  climate  is  generally  hot,  but, 
owing  to  diversity  of  elevation  and  peculiarities  of 
the  distribution  of  rainfall,  it  is  by  no  means 
uniform. 

The  rains  of  India  depend  on  extraordinary  sea 
winds,  or  "monsoons,"  and  their  distribution  is 
regulated  by  the  topography  of  land  and  the  rela- 
tive position  of   any  districts  with  regard  to  the 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS.       28 1 

mountains  and  the  vapor-laden  air  currents.  Thus 
excessive  rainfall  characterizes  the  coast-line  along 
the  Arabian  Sea  to  about  latitude  20"  N.,  and  still 
more  the  coast  of  Lower  Burma,  and  to  a  lesser 
extent  also  the  delta  of  the  Ganges  and  the  south- 
ern slope  of  the  Himalayas.  A  moderately  humid 
climate,  if  gauged  by  annual  rainfall,  prevails  over 
the  plateau  occupying  the  large  peninsula  and  the 
Lower  Ganges  Valley,  while  a  rainfall  of  less  than 
fifteen  inches  occurs  over  the  arid  regions  of  the 
Lower  Indus.  In  keeping  with  this  great  diver- 
sity of  climate,  both  as  to  temperature  and  humid- 
ity, there  is  great  variation  in  the  character  and 
development  of  the  forest  cover.  The  natural  dif- 
ferences in  this  forest  cover  are  emphasized  by  the 
action  of  man,  who  for  many  centuries  has  waged 
war  against  the  forest,  clearing  it  permanently  or 
temporarily  for  agricultural  purposes  or  else  merely 
burning  it  over  to  improve  grazing  facilities  or  for 
purposes  of  the  chase.  Thus  only  about  20  per 
cent  of  the  entire  area  of  India  is  covered  by 
woods,  not  over  30  per  cent  being  under  cultiva- 
tion, leaving  about  50  per  cent  either  natural 
desert,  waste,  or  grazing  lands.  The  great  for- 
ests of  India  are  in  Burma;  extensive  woods 
clothe  the  foot-hills  of  the  Himalayas  and  are  scat- 
tered in  smaller  bodies  throughout  the  more  humid 
portions  of  the  country,  while  the  dry  northwest- 
ern territories  are  practically  treeless  wastes.  In 
this  way  large  areas  of  densely  settled  districts  are 


282  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

SO  completely  void  of  forest  that  millions  of  people 
regularly  burn  cow  dung  as  fuel. 

In  the  greater  part  of  India  the  hardwood  forest 
(conifers  are  scarce  and  confined  in  locality)  con- 
sists not  of  a  few  species,  as  with  us,  but  is  made 
up  of  a  great  variety  of  trees  unlike  in  their  habit, 
their  growth,  and  their  product,  and  if  our  hard- 
woods offer  on  this  account  considerable  difficul- 
ties to  profitable  exploitation,  the  case  is  far  more 
compHcated  in  India.  In  addition  to  the  large 
variety  of  timber  trees,  there  is  a  multitude  of 
shrubs,  twining  and  cHmbing  plants,  and  in  most 
forest  districts  also  a  dense  undergrowth  of  giant 
grasses  (bamboos),  attaining  a  height  of  30  to  120 
feet.  These  bamboos,  valuable  as  they  are  in 
many  ways,  prevent,  often  for  years,  the  growth 
of  any  seedling  tree,  and  thus  form  a  serious 
obstacle  to  the  regeneration  of  valuable  timber. 
The  growth  of  timber  is  usually  quite  rapid; 
the  bamboos  make  large,  useful  stems  in  a  single 
season.  Teak  grows  into  large-size  saw-timber  in 
fifty  to  sixty  years.  But  in  spite  of  this  rapid 
growth  and  the  large  areas  not  now  in  forest  but 
capable  of  reforestation,  India  is  not  likely  —  at 
least  within  reasonable  time  —  to  raise  more  timber 
than  it  needs.  In  most  parts  of  India  the  use  of 
ordinary  soft  woods,  such  as  pine,  seems  very  re- 
stricted, for  only  durable  woods,  those  resisting 
both  fungi  and  insects  (of  which  the  white  ants 
are  specially  destructive),  can  be  employed  in  the 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS.      283 

more  permanent  structures,  and  are  therefore  ac- 
ceptable in  all  Indian  markets. 

With  the  irregular  distribution  of  forests,  the 
pecuUarities  of  Indian  affairs,  and  the  unsurveyed 
wild,  and  difficult  conditions  of  the  forests  them- 
selves, it  is  but  natural  that  the  work  thus  far  has 
been  chiefly  one  of  organization,  survey,  and  pro- 
tection, and  to  a  far  less  degree  an  attempt  at  im- 
provement by  judicious  cutting  and  reforestation. 

Over  23,000  square  miles  have  been  surveyed 
for  forest  purposes  since  1874,  at  a  cost  of  over 
$1,500,000. 

Work  of  establishing  and  maintaining  boundary 
lines,  which  is  often  a  very  difficult  and  costly 
matter  in  the  dense  tropical  jungles,  involved 
during  one  year,  1894,  an  expense  of  over  $40,000, 
and  there  are  at  present  over  93,000  miles  of  such 
boundary  lines  maintained.  Besides  this  survey 
work  proper,  there  is  a  large  force  constantly  at 
work  to  ascertain  the  amount  and  condition  of 
timber  supplies  and  to  prepare  suitable  plans  for 
their  exploitation  and  improvement,  so  that  over 
20  per  cent  of  the  entire  forest  area,  or  about 
20,000  square  miles,  is  by  this  time  managed  with 
definite  working  plans  as  to  amount  of  timber  to 
be  cut,  the  areas  to  be  thinned,  reforested,  etc. 

The  work  of  protection  is  chiefly  one  of  pre- 
venting and  fighting  fires.  This  protection,  with 
present  means,  cannot  be  carried  on  over  the  entire 
forest  areas,  of  which   large   tracts  are  not  even 


284  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY 

crossed  by  a  foot-path,  and  in  a  land  where  the 
regular  firing  of  the  woods  has  become  the  cus- 
tom of  centuries,  and  where,  in  addition,  intensely 
hot  and  dry  weather,  together  with  a  most  luxu- 
riant growth  of  giant  grasses,  render  these  jungle 
fires  practically  Im manageable.  In  all  forests 
near  settlements  the  forest  must  be  isolated  by 
broad  "fire  traces"  or  otherwise.  In  the  jungle 
forests  these  traces  must  be  broad;  the  grass, 
often  taller  than  an  elephant,  must  be  cut  and 
burned  before  the  grass  on  either  side  is  dry 
enough  to  burn.  Similarly,  the  traces  in  the  long- 
leaf  pine  forests  must  be  very  wide  and  first  con- 
verted into  grass  strips,  cut  or  kept  clean  by 
burning.  In  spite  of  the  unusual  difficulties  there 
were,  in  1898,  over  32,000  square  miles  protected 
against  fire,  and  on  only  8  per  cent  of  this  area 
did  the  element  succeed  in  doing  any  damage. 
In  this  work,  too,  great  progress  has  been  made 
during  the  last  twenty  years ;  the  efficiency  has 
steadily  increased,  and  the  expense,  about  $10  per 
square  mile  in  1883,  has  been  reduced  to  less  than 
half,  or  2  per  cent,  of  the  gross  revenue. 

In  the  protection  against  unlawful  felling,  or 
timber  stealing  and  grazing,  the  government  of 
India  has  shown  itself  fully  equal  to  the  occasion 
by  a  liberal  policy  of  supplying  villagers  in  prox- 
imity to  the  forests  with  fuel,  etc.,  at  reduced 
prices  or  gratis.  Over  $2,000,000  worth  was  thus 
disposed  of  in   1894- 1895,  the  incentive  to  timber 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS.      285 

stealing  being  thereby  materially  reduced.  A 
reasonable  and  just  permit  system  of  grazing, 
where  again  the  needs  of  the  neighboring  villagers 
are  most  carefully  considered,  not  only  brings  the 
government  a  yearly  revenue  of  nearly  $800,000, 
but  enables  the  people  to  graze  about  3,000,000 
head  of  animals,  in  the  state  forests,  without  doing 
any  material  damage  to  tree  growth. 

Though  the  forests  of  India  are  now,  and  will 
continue  for  some  time,  little  more  than  wild  woods, 
with  some  protection  and  a  reasonable  system  of 
exploitation,  in  place  of  a  mere  robbing  or  culling 
system,  yet  the  work  of  actually  improving  the 
forests  steadily  increases  in  amount  and  perfec- 
tion. 

In  the  large  teak  forests  of  Burma,  as  well  as 
other  provinces,  care  is  taken  to  help  this  valu- 
able timber  to  propagate  itself ;  the  useless  kinds 
of  trees  are  girdled,  huge  climbers  are  cut  off,  and 
a  steady  war  is  waged  against  all  species  detri- 
mental to  teak  regeneration.  Where  the  teak  has 
entirely  disappeared,  even  planting  is  resorted  to. 
Thus  in  Burma  over  35,000  acres  have  been  re- 
stocked with  teak  by  means  of  taungyas,  or  plan- 
tations, where  the  native  is  allowed  to  burn  down 
a  piece  of  woods,  use  it  for  a  few  years  as  field 
(though  it  is  never  really  cleared)  on  condition  of 
planting  it  with  teak,  being  paid  a  certain  sum  for 
every  hundred  trees  in  a  thrifty  condition  at  the 
time  of  giving  up  his  land. 


286  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

Similarly,  the  department  expends  large  sums 
in  establishing  forests  in  parts  of  the  arid  regions 
of  Beluchistan,  and,  on  the  whole,  has  spent  on 
cultural  operations,  in  different  years,  from  2  to  S-t 
per  cent  of  its  gross  revenue,  namely,  at  the  rate 
of  about  $125,000  per  year,  over  100,000  acres 
having  been  planted  since  1880. 

In  disposing  of  its  timber  the  government  of 
India  employs  various  methods.  In  some  districts 
the  people,  paying  a  small  tax,  get  out  of  the 
woods  their  needs.  In  other  cases,  the  logger 
pays  for  what  he  removes,  being  neither  limited 
in  quantity  nor  quality  of  product.  The  prevalent 
systems,  however,  are  the  permit  system,  where  a 
definite  amount  is  to  be  cut  and  paid  for,  and  the 
contract  system,  where  the  work  is  more  or  less 
under  control  of  government  officers,  and  the 
material  remains  governmental  property  until  paid 
for.  To  a  Hmited  extent  the  Forest  department 
carries  on  its  own  logging  operations.  In  spite  of 
many  difficulties,  a  poor  market  (no  market  at  all  for 
a  large  number  of  woods),  wild,  unsurveyed,  and 
practically  unknown  woodlands,  unusual  and  costly 
organization  and  protection,  the  forestry  depart- 
ment has  succeeded,  without  curtailing  the  timber 
output  of  India,  to  prepare  for  an  increase  of 
output  in  the  future,  and  at  the  same  time  has 
yielded  the  government  a  steadily  growing  revenue 
which  bids  fair  before  long  to  rank  among  the 
important  sources  of  income. 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS.       287 

The  growth  of  both  gross  and  net  revenue  is 
illustrated  in  the  following  figures,  rounded  off, 
and  figuring  the  rupee  at  one  third  of  a  dollar.' 


Period. 

Gross 
Revenue. 

Expenditure. 

Surplus. 

Proportion  of 

Expenditure  to 

Revenue. 

M  dollars. 

Per  cent. 

1865-67 

1,200 

740 

460 

61 

1868-72 

1,540 

1,100 

440 

71 

1873-77 

2,180 

1,470 

710 

67 

1S78-82 

2,360 

1,630 

730 

67 

1883-87 

3.560 

2,280 

1,280 

64 

1888-92 

4,750 

2,700 

2,050 

56 

1892-97 

5,700 

3,120 

2,580 

55 

1897-98 

5,930 

3,400 

2,530 

57 

This  steady  rise  in  revenue  in  response  to  a  rise 
in  expenditures,  is  one  of  the  best  arguments  of 
the  efficiency  of  the  administration,  brought  about 
by  a  liberal  policy  in  paying  for  efficient  adminis- 
tration, including  a  generous  pension  system  —  a 
policy  which  in  its  results  compares  most  favor- 
ably with  the  stingy,  niggardly  policy  which  usually 
prevails  in  the  United  States  in  the  employment 
of  public  officers.  The  inspector-general  receives 
about  $8000,  and  the  conservators  about  $5000 
per  annum. 

1  The  figures  given  on  p.  115  differ  on  account  of  different  value 
used  in  translating  rupees. 


288  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

In  the  expenditures  it  is  of  special  interest  to 
note  that  fire  protection  absorbs  less  than  2  per 
cent  of  the  gross  revenue,  namely,  about  $100,000 
per  year,  and  about  as  much  is  expended  on  cul- 
tural operations,  while  the  superior  staff  absorbs 
a  little  over  13  per  cent  and  the  subordinate  staff 
with  office  establishments  14  per  cent. 

The  forest  laws  of  India  were,  like  those  of  most 
countries,  a  matter  of  growth  and  adaptation,  with 
the  important  difference,  however,  that  the  well- 
defined  object  of  preserving  a  continuous  supply 
of  the  all-essential  timber  was  from  the  beginning 
steadily  kept  in  mind.  The  principal  acts  are 
those  of  1865,  1869,  and  especially  the  "Indian 
Forest  Act"  of  1878,  with  secondary  legislation 
applying  to  particular  localities,  such  as  the  act  of 
1 88 1  for  Burma  and  of  1882  for  Madras,  and  others. 

In  general,  these  forest  laws  provide  for  the 
establishment  of  permanent  or  "  reserved "  state 
forests,  to  be  managed  according  to  modern  for- 
estry principles.  They  provide  for  a  suitable 
force  of  men,  give  the  forest  officers  certain 
police  powers,  prohibit  unwarranted  removal  of 
forest  products,  the  setting  of  fires,  or  othei-wise 
injuring  the  forest  property.  The  laws  also  regu- 
late grazing  and  the  chase  by  permit  systems,  and 
prescribe  rules  by  which  the  work  of  the  depart- 
ment is  carried  on,  as  well  as  the  manner  in  which 
officers  are  engaged,  promoted,  etc.  Since  the 
peculiar  circumstances  require  men  specially  fitted 


FOREST    POLICIES    OF    FOREIGN    NATIONS.       2S5 

and  trained,  schools  were  established  to  furnish 
the  recruits  for  this  steadily  growing  service. 
There  is  one  at  Cooper's  Hill,  England,  where 
a  thorough  course  is  intended  to  prepare  men  for 
the  superior  staff  positions,  and  the  Imperial  school 
at  Dehra  Dun,  which  is  to  supply  the  great  num- 
ber of  the  executive  staff,  the  young  men  starting 
in  usually  as  guards  or  rangers  at  a  pay  of  about 
$25  per  month,  working  their  way  up  to  places 
worth  $50  per  month,  and  if  well  suited,  ehgible 
for  further  promotion.  In  the  Dehra  Dun  school 
and  the  executive  staff,  the  native-  element  is  fast 
making  itself  felt,  and  there  is  Httle  doubt  that  the 
men  of  India  will  soon  be  able  to  manage  the  for- 
ests of  their  own  native  land. 

In  most  of  the  English  colonies,  there  exist  also 
beginnings  of  a  forest  pohcy,  and  in  several  of  them, 
at  least,  forestry  departments,  albeit  inefficient  or 
impotent,  as  in  Neiv  South  Wales,  whose  timber 
wealth,  originally  enormous,  is  now  rapidly  deterio- 
rating under  a  loosely  managed  license  system, 
although  the  department  of  agriculture  and  for- 
estry employs  some  350  "foresters  "  and  assistants 
on  the  5,500,000  acres  of  forest  land  belonging  to 
the  government. 

Similarly  in  Western  Attstralia,  the  conservator 
of  the  department  of  woods  and  forests  is  appar- 
ently powerless  to  extend  any  improved  system  of 
utilization  over  the  20,000,000  acres  of  woodlands 
to  which  the  magnificent  Eucalypts,  especially  the 


290  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

Jarrah,  Karri,  and  Red  Gum,  lend  special  value. 
The  government  merely  controls  the  cutting  by- 
issuing  licenses  under  certain  reservations,  and 
by  collecting  the  revenue. 

In  South  Australia,  which  is  mostly  a  forestless 
plains  country,  a  forest  department  was  instituted 
in  1876  for  two  purposes,  namely,  to  plant  and  ad- 
minister state  forest  reservations,  and  to  grow  trees 
for  free  distribution.  In  1890  there  were  about 
215,000  acres  planted  and  in  reservations,  and  dur- 
ing the  fourteen  years  some  4,500,000  seedlings 
had  been  distributed ;  the  expenses  above  receipts 
having  been  $120,000  during  the  period. 

Cape  Colony  seems  to  be  similarly  situated, 
mainly  forestless,  and  hence  merely  interested  in 
tree  planting,  which  is  done  in  a  small  way  by 
four  conservators,  who  are  directly  under  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Colony.  Here  the  government  also 
assists  municipalities  in  covering  their  watersheds 
by  contributing  half  the  expense. 

Even  in  the  Sondan  we  note  a  beginning,  a  report 
for  a  plan  having  lately  been  at  last  called  for. 

The  Germans  in  their  African  possessions  have 
also  begun  to  introduce  their  painstaking  forestry 
methods  with  success. 

Two  years  ago  Egypt  also  entered  the  ranks  of 
states  with  a  forest  policy,  encouraging  reforesta- 
tion by  relief  of  taxes  on  planted  land. 

The  country  which,  next  to  British  India,  can 
claim  to  have  the  largest  forest  area  under  one 


FOREST   POLICIES    OF   FOREIGN    NATIONS.       29 1 

policy  is  Russia.  Although  one  of  the  export 
countries,  with  ^30,000,000  to  $35,000,000,  and 
largely  in  the  pioneering  stage,  Russia  in  Europe, 
well  wooded  with  500,000,000  acres  in  forest,  al- 
though much  in  poor  condition,  has  a  well-devised 
forest  policy,  developed  within  the  last  thirty  or 
fifty  years,  which  consists  not  only  in  maintain- 
ing government  forests  to  the  extent  of  about 
300,000,000  acres,  divided  into  1500  districts 
under  tolerably  good  management,  and  15,000,- 
000  acres  of  Crown  forests,  personal  property 
of  the  royal  family,  but  in  restricting  private 
owners  (110,000,000  acres  in  large  domains  and 
75,000,000  in  lands  of  small  owners)  from  abuse 
of  their  property,  where  the  public  welfare  de- 
mands, while  in  the  prairie  country  in  southern 
Russia  large  amounts  of  money  are  spent  by  the 
government  in  planting  forests  and  in  assisting 
private  enterprise  in  the  same  direction. 

With  the  Siberian  forests  and  those  of  the  Cau- 
casus added,  the  area  of  government  forest  may 
reach  the  large  figure  of  600,000,000  acres,  which, 
though  not  yet  all  placed  under  management,  is 
sooner  or  later  to  come  under  the  existing  forest 
administration. 

The  restrictive  policy  dates  from  a  very  elabo- 
rate law  passed  in  1888,  and  extended  greatly  in 
1900,  in  which  the  democratic  spirit  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  body  controlling  the  exercise  of  property 
rights   is   interesting.     The  approval  of   working 


292  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

plans,  or  of  clearings  on  private  property,  is 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  specially  constituted 
committee  for  each  county,  which  includes  the 
governor,  justices  of  the  peace,  the  county  council, 
and  several  forest  owners,  and  the  government 
itself  must  secure  the  approval  of  this  committee 
for  its  operations. 

By  this  law,  throughout  European  Russia,  wood- 
lands may  be  declared  "  preserved  forests  "  on  the 
following  grounds :  That  they  serve  as  preven- 
tives against  the  formation  of  barrens  and  shifting 
sands,  and  the  encroachment  of  dunes  along  sea- 
shores or  the  banks  of  navigable  rivers,  canals, 
and  artificial  reservoirs ;  that  they  protect  from 
sand  drifts  towns,  villages,  cultivated  land,  roads, 
and  the  like ;  that  they  protect  the  banks  of  navi- 
gable rivers  and  canals  from  landslides,  overflows, 
or  injuries  by  the  breaking  up  or  passing  of  ice ; 
that  when  growing  on  hills,  steep  places,  or  declines, 
they  serve  to  check  land  or  rock  slides,  avalanches, 
and  sudden  freshets ;  and  that  they  protect  the 
springs  and  sources  of  the  rivers  and  their  tribu- 
taries. One  hundred  million  acres  of  private 
forest  have  thus  come  under  supervision. 

In  these  preserved  forests,  working  plans  are 
made  at  the  expense  of  the  government,  and  in 
the  unpreserved  forests  at  the  expense  of  the 
owners.  In  each  province  the  government  main- 
tains an  inspector-instructor,  whose  duty  is  to 
advise  those  who  apply  to  him  in  forest  matters, 


FOREST    POLICIES    OF   FOREIGN    NATIONS.       293 

and  as  far  as  possible  he  is  to  superintend  on 
the  spot  all  forestry  work.  The  government  has 
established  nurseries,  from  which  private  owners 
can  obtain  young  trees  and  seeds  at  a  low  price. 
The  owners  are  allowed  to  employ  as  managers 
of  their  forests  the  trained  officials  of  the  forest 
administration,  while  medals  and  prizes  are  given 
yearly  to  private  owners  for  excellency  in  forest 
culture  and  management.  Two  higher  and  thirty 
lower  schools  of  forestry  are  also  maintained  by 
the  government. 

The  forest  institute  in  St.  Petersburg,  with  a 
staff  of  15  professors  and  instructors,  and  about 
450  students,  and  one  at  New  Alexandria,  near 
Warsaw,  supply  the  superior  staff.  But  the  most 
important  and  characteristic  feature  in  educational 
direction  are  the  30  silvicultural  schools,  in  which 
the  rangers  or  under-foresters  are  educated,  al- 
most entirely  at  government  expense.  There  are 
usually  3  teachers  employed,  and  forestry  offi- 
cials having  also  other  duties,  for  the  20  students 
at  each  of  these  schools.  The  total  expense  of 
such  a  school  is  about  ^3300,  of  which  the  state 
contributes  about  $2500. 

Another  characteristic  feature  is  a  method,  re- 
vived in  1897,  from  German  precedent  of  150  years 
ago,  and  also  practised  in  France,  to  secure  refor- 
estation of  cut-over  lands.  The  wood-merchant 
who  cuts  timber  on  government  lands,  especially  in 
the  pineries,  is  obliged  to  clear  the  ground  of  debris, 


294  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

replant  it,  and  hand  it  back  to  the  government  in 
satisfactory  condition.  To  insure  compliance  with 
this  condition,  a  deposit  of  $2  to  $4  per  acre  is  ex- 
acted.    Results  are  not  as  yet  on  record. 

Russia's  small  neighbors  at  the  southwestern 
frontier,  Bosnia-Herzegovina  and  Ronniania  also 
can  boast  of  quite  effective  forest  administration. 
In  the  former,  which  is  to  the  extent  of  50  per 
cent  forested,  the  state  has,  since  1878,  instituted 
an  orderly  management  on  its  5,000,000  acres  of 
forest  property,  while  Roumania,  since  1881,  has 
not  only  a  forest  administration  for  its  2,500,000 
acres  of  state  lands,  but  has  also  a  very  efficient 
and  strictly  enforced  forest  protection  law,  under 
which  84  per  cent  of  all  the  forest  lands,  the  total 
forest  area  being  6,800,000  acres,  are  declared  pro- 
tection forests,  and  their  plans  of  management 
must  be  sanctioned  by  the  state  authorities.  Since 
1892,  there  is  also  established  a  forest  mehoration 
fund,  to  which  the  state  contributes  2  per  cent  of 
the  gross  revenue  from  its  forest  property,  for  the 
purpose  of  encouraging  reforestation. 

In  Austria,  which  is  wooded  to  the  extent  of 
30  per  cent,  and  which  exports  over  ^40,000,000  in 
excess  of  imports,  the  disastrous  consequences 
which  the  reckless  devastation  and  abuse  of  her 
mountain  forests  by  their  owners  has  brought 
upon  whole  communities,  have  led  to  a  more 
stringent  and  general  supervision  of  private  and 
communal  forests  than  anywhere  else.     In  1868  a 


FOREST   POLICIES    OF    FOREIGN   NATIONS.       295 

law  was  enacted  which  released  reforested  areas 
from  taxes  for  10  years,  and  under  some  condi- 
tions for  25  years;  the  effect  seems  to  have  been 
mainly  a  moral  and  educational  one.  Since  1883 
there  has  been  in  progress  a  work  of  recuperation 
similar  to  the  French  reboisement  work,  in  which, 
up  to  1894,  nearly  $1,500,000  had  been  spent,  the 
state  contributing  variously  from  25  to  lOO  per 
cent  toward  covering  the  expense,  the  state  itself 
having  reforested  over  200,000  acres  of  waste 
lands.  A  fully  organized  forest  department  man- 
ages the  government  forests,  2,500,000  acres,  or 
10  per  cent  of  the  total  forest  area,  which  are 
gradually  being  increased  by  purchase. 

Nearly  2,000,000  acres  are  declared  protection 
forests,  and  the  state  exercises  the  right  to  ex- 
propriate or  place  under  supervision  private  prop- 
erty for  protective  purposes.  Lately  (1898),  for 
the  purpose  of  directing  the  government's  policy 
regarding  the  use  of  its  soil  resources,  a  Land- 
wirthschaftrath  (agricultural  council),  composed 
of  75  members,  has  been  instituted,  consisting  of 
farmers,  foresters,  miners,  and  others.  One  higher 
and  several  lower  schools  supported  by  the  state 
provide  instruction, 

Austria's  sister  state,  Hungary,  also  has  a  well- 
established  forest  administration,  and  since  1879 
has  had  a  law  providing  for  supervision  of  private 
forest  lands  and  for  reforestation  of  waste  lands, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  state. 


296  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY. 

Italy  has  long  suffered  from  the  effects  of  forest 
devastation  by  droughts  and  floods,  but  the  gov- 
ernment was  always  too  weak  to  secure  effective 
remedies.  Densely  populated,  with  one-third  of 
its  area  unproductive  and  one-quarter  almost  be- 
yond redemption,  no  country  offers  better  oppor- 
tunities for  studying  the  evil  effects  of  deforestation 
on  soil  and  waterflow.  The  state  owns  only  1.6 
per  cent,  or  116,000  acres  of  forest,  the  balance  of 
7,000,000  acres  belonging  to  communities  and  cor- 
porations or  to  individuals.  Yet  by  the  laws  of 
1877,  revised  in  1888,  the  policy  of  state  inter- 
ference is  clearly  defined.  Excellent  though  the 
law  appears  on  paper,  it  has  probably  not  yielded 
any  significant  results,  since  owing  to  the  finan- 
cial disability  of  the  government  there  has  not 
even  been  general  enforcement.  This  law  placed 
nearly  half  the  area  not  owned  by  the  state 
under  government  control,  namely,  all  woods 
and  lands  cleared  of  wood  on  the  summits  and 
slopes  of  the  mountains  above  the  upper  limit  of 
chestnut  growth,  and  those  that  from  their  charac- 
ter and  situation  may,  in  consequence  of  being 
cleared  or  tilled,  give  rise  to  landslips,  caving, 
or  gullying,  avalanches  and  snowslides,  and  may 
to  the  public  injury  interfere  with  watercourses 
or  change  the  character  of  the  soil  or  injure  local 
hygienic  conditions.  Government  aid  is  to  be 
extended   where   reforestation   appears  necessary. 

Of  the  76,000  acres  which  required  immediate  re- 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS.       297 

forestation  for  reasons  of  public  safety,  only  22,000 
were  reforested  in  twenty  years  up  to  1886,  the 
government  contributing  ^85,000  toward  the  cost. 

In  the  revised  law  of  1888,  as  a  result  of  the 
past  experiences,  an  elaboration  of  the  same  plan 
was  attempted  by  creating  further  authority  to 
enforce  action.  It  is  now  estimated  that  534,000 
acres  need  reforesting  at  a  cost  of  ^12,000,000,  of 
which  two-fifths  is  to  be  contributed  by  the  state. 

Expropriation  proceedings  may  be  instituted 
where  owners  refuse  to  reforest,  with  permission 
to  reclaim  in  five  years  by  paying,  with  interest, 
the  cost  of  work  incurred  by  the  state. 

The  latest  addition  to  the  inefficient  means  of 
coping  with  the  evil  is  an  Arbor  Day  imported 
from  the  United  States. 

A  forestry  school  at  Vallombrosa  furnishes  all 
needed  opportunity  to  learn  the  necessary  forestry 
methods. 

Our  little  sister  republic,  Switzerland,  has  had  a 
long  struggle  during  the  first  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  to  come  to  a  rational  forest  poHcy, 
although  the  damage  done  by  its  absence  was 
clearly  enough  seen.  Only  in  1898  has  the  fed- 
eral government  finally  succeeded  in  becoming  the 
executor  of  the  protective  laws  in  all  cantons.  These 
laws  prohibit  clearing  in  the  high  Alps  without  sanc- 
tion by  the  federal  authorities.  With  the  assistance 
of  the  bund  reforesting  is  done  where  needed.  A 
forestry  school  in  Zurich  educates  the  staff. 


298  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

Sweden  and  Norway  have  been  the  great  forest 
exploiters  and  exporters  of  wood  materials  of  the 
last  fifty  years,  supplying  especially  England  with 
most  of  her  needs.  A  comparatively  large  forest 
area  (over  60,000,000  acres)  accessible  to  water 
transportation  by  the  many  fiords  and  streams  in- 
vited this  exploitation,  the  product  of  which,  to  the 
extent  of  over  60  per  cent,  goes  to  England  and 
France  and  amounts  now  to  nearly  2,000,000,000 
feet,  B.M. 

In  Sweden,  which  contains  nearly  three-fourths 
of  the  forest  area,  crude  beginnings  of  government 
interest  are  recorded  from  about  the  year  1500. 
In  the  year  1720  a  director  of  forests  was  ap- 
pointed, the  germ  of  the  present  Government 
Forest  Department.  It  was  then  that  the  previous 
lax  pohcy  of  the  government  gave  place  to  a  some- 
what sentimental  solicitude.  "  It  is  rather  amus- 
ing to  read  the  jeremiads  that  were  given  utterance 
to  both  inside  and  outside  the  Riksdag  by  the 
men  of  light  and  leading  of  that  age  with  regard 
to  the  question  of  forest  exhaustion,  when  only  the 
fringe  of  the  woodlands  had  been  touched  and 
forest  property  had  scarcely  a  nominal  value  as  a 
realizable  asset  .  .  .  the  champions  of  a  policy  of 
restriction  originated  equally  as  much  in  an  appre- 
hended deterioration  of  cUmate  as  in  an  actual 
scarcity  of  wood.  Both  these  apprehensions  proved 
groundless,  and  we  have  the  testimony  of  one 
of  the  foremost  pubhc  men  of    Sweden  that  the 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN    NATIONS.       299 

climate  of  Norrland,  especially,  has  been  much 
improved  the  last  sixty  years  by  the  partial  cutting 
down  of  the  forests."  ^ 

In  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  laws 
were  passed  to  restrict  clearing,  determine  the 
minimum  size  of  logs  to  be  cut,  and,  in  some 
parts  (Lapland),  where  climatic  deterioration  was 
specially  feared,  preventing  all  cutting  without  per- 
mission from  the  government.  The  more  system- 
atic administration  of  government  forests,  some 
18,000,000  acres,  dates  from  the  year  i860,  and 
with  it  a  more  conservative  policy  in  the  exploita- 
tion generally.  The  success  of  this  administration 
seems  not  to  have  been  conspicuous,  due  partly, 
perhaps,  to  an  ultra  conservative  management, 
partly  to  the  Hcense  system  under  which  much 
of  the  State  forests  are  cut  over  by  lumbermen. 
Continuous  agitation  and  troubling  prophesies  con- 
cerning the  future  of  the  timber  trade  led,  in  1894, 
to  a  special  investigation  of  the  subject  by  a  com- 
mission sent  out  from  the  University.  As  a  result 
of  this  inquiry  it  appears  that  Sweden  is  fully  able 
to  continue  her  present  cut,  or  even  increase  it, 
without  exhausting  her  resource,  provided  it  is 
sufficiently  protected  to  permit  its  renewal  and  the 
cutting  is  done  conservatively. 

The  simpUcity  of  the  composition  of  the  forest, 
namely,  pine  and  spruce  with    oak  almost  exclu- 

1  "The  Wood  Industries  of  Sweden,"  Timber  Trades  Journal. 
1S96. 


300  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

sively,  insure  the  renewal  with  valuable  species, 
although  it  appears  that  the  spruce  is  gaining  over 
the  pine.  Replanting  has  been  begun  even  by 
private  forest  owners ;  in  some  cases  on  large 
areas.  Towns  and  country  districts  and  parishes 
own  extensive  forest  tracts.  The  parish  of  Orsa 
is  an  example  of  several  in  similar  condition,  real- 
izing a  fund  of  1^2,500,000  from  its  forest  lands, 
which  does  away  with  the  need  of  taxes.  These 
areas  are  under  the  management  of  a  local  com- 
mittee, with  the  governor  of  the  province  as  chair- 
man, a  crude  selection  system  only  being  practised. 

The  country  which  has  attracted  the  greatest 
interest  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  forestry,  be- 
cause the  science  of  forestry  is  there  most  thor- 
oughly developed  and  applied,  is  Germany. 

It  may,  therefore,  be  of  interest  not  only  to 
describe  the  forest  poHcies  of  Germany  more 
fully,  but  briefly  to  trace  their  historical  develop- 
ment. 

Although  as  early  as  Charlemagne's  time  a  con- 
ception of  the  value  of  a  forest  as  a  piece  of  prop- 
erty was  well  recognized  by  that  monarch  himself, 
and  crude  prescriptions  as  to  the  proper  use  of 
the  same  are  extant,  a  general,  really  well-ordered 
system  of  forest  management  hardly  existed  until 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Spo- 
radically, to  be  sure,  systematic  care  and  regular 
methods  of  reproduction  were  employed  even  in 
the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries. 


FOREST    POLICIES    OF   FOREIGN    NATIONS.       301 

To  understand  the  development  of  the  present 
forest  policy  in  Germany,  one  must  study  the 
peculiar  conditions  and  development  of  property 
rights  that  led  to  it.  Germany  was  originally  set- 
tled by  warriors,  who  had  to  keep  together  in  order 
to  resist  enemies  and  conquerors  on  every  side, 
and  to  be  ready  to  move  and  change  domicile  at 
any  moment.  The  soil  which  was  conquered  was, 
consequently,  not  divided,  but,  owned  as  a  whole, 
was  managed  by  and  for  the  whole  tribe.  It  is  only 
in  the  sixth  century  that  signs  of  private  property 
in  woodlands  are  discernible.  Before  that  time 
it  was  res  nulliiis,  or,  as  it  is  expressed  in  legal 
manuscripts,  "  quia  non  res  possessa  sed  de  ligno 
agitury 

Wood  being  plentiful  and  yet  needed  by  every- 
body, it  appeared  not  a  crime  to  take  it  unless  it 
had  been  already  appropriated  or  bore  unmistak- 
able signs  of  ownership,  such  as  being  cut  or 
shaped.  But  severe  punishments  were  in  earliest 
times  inflicted  for  incendiarism  and  for  damage  to 
mast  trees,  since  the  seed  mast  for  the  fattening  of 
swine  was  one  of  the  most  important  uses  of  the 
forest. 

There  was  not  much  need  of  partition,  especially 
of  the  forests.  The  community,  to  which  all  the 
land  of  a  district  belonged,  and  which  was  man- 
aged by  and  for  the  aggregate  of  society,  was 
called  the  "  mark,"  a  communistic  institution  of 
most  express  character,  and  every  "  marker  "  or 


302  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

shareholder  was  allowed  to  get  the  timber  needed 
by  him  for  his  own  use  without  control. 

This  early  communal  ownership  of  forest  land 
undoubtedly  explains  the  fact  that  even  to-day 
over  5  per  cent  of  the  forest  is  owned  by  com- 
munities, cities,  or  villages.  Gradually  the  neces- 
sity of  regulating  the  cutting  of  the  wood  became 
apparent,  as  the  best  timber  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  villages  was  removed ;  and  we  find  quite 
early  mention  of  officials  whose  duty  it  was  to 
superintend  the  felling,  removing,  and  even  the 
use  of  the  timber.  By  and  by  even  the  firewood 
was  designated  by  officials.  Manufacturers  re- 
ceived their  material  free  of  charge,  but  only  as 
much  as  was  needed  to  supply  the  community. 
Occasionally  there  were  rules  that  each  man  had 
to  plant  trees  in  proportion  to  his  consumption. 
So  that  by  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century  quite  a 
system  of  forest  management  had  been  developed. 

Meanwhile  the  Roman  doctrine  of  the  regal 
right  to  the  chase  had  also  begun  to  assert  itself 
by  the  declaration  of  certain  districts  as  ban  for- 
ests, or  simply  forests,  in  which  the  king  exclu- 
sively reserved  the  right  to  chase.  The  kings 
again  invested  their  trusted  followers  and  nobles 
with  this  right  to  the  chase  in  various  districts, 
thus  gradually  dividing  the  control  of  the  same. 

While  at  first  these  reservations  did  not  bring 
with  them  restrictions  in  the  use  of  the  timber  or 
pasture  or  other  products  of  the  forest,  these  uses 


FOREST   POLICIES    OF    FOREIGN    NATIONS.       303 

were  gradually  construed  as  exercised  only  by 
permission,  and  the  former  owners  were  reduced 
to  holders  of  "  servitudes,"  i.e.  holders  of  certain 
rights  in  the  substance  of  the  forest.  The  fact 
that  the  feudal  lords  frequently  became  the  ober- 
markers,  or  burgomasters,  of  the  mark  community 
lent  color  of  right  to  these  restrictions  in  the  use 
of  the  property,  besides  the  assertion  that  the 
needs  of  maintaining  the  chase  required  and  en- 
titled them  to  such  control. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  through  all  the 
changes  of  centuries,  these  so-called  servitudes 
have  lasted  until  our  own  times,  much  changed,  to 
be  sure,  in  character,  and  extended  by  new  grants, 
especially  to  churches,  charitable  institutions,  cities, 
villages,  and  colonists.  Such  rights,  to  satisfy 
certain  requirements  from  the  substance  of  an 
adjoining  forest,  were  then  usually  attached  to  the 
ownership  of  certain  farms,  and  involved  counter 
service  of  some  sort,  usually  in  hauling  wood  or 
doing  other  forestry  work. 

Sometimes  when  the  lordly  owners  of  large 
properties  exercised  only  certain  prerogatives  to 
show  ownership,  these,  in  the  course  of  time, 
lapsed  into  the  character  of  servitudes,  the  forest 
itself  by  occupation  becoming  the  property  of  the 
community.  With  changes  in  value  and  other 
changes  in  economic  conditions,  these  rights  often 
became  disadvantageous  and  more  and  more  cum- 
bersome to  either  or  both  sides. 


304  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

The  present  century  has  been  occupied  with  the 
difficult  labor  of  relieving  this  state  of  things  and 
making  equitable  arrangements  by  which  the  for- 
ests become  unencumbered  and  the  beneficiaries 
properly  satisfied  by  cession  of  land  or  a  money 
equivalent. 

This  chapter  of  the  history  of  forest  policy  is 
especially  interesting  to  us,  as  a  tendency,  nay  the 
practice,  exists  of  granting  such  right  to  the  public 
timber  to  the  settlers  in  the  western  states,  which 
by  and  by  will  be  just  as  difficult  to  eradicate  when 
rational  forest  management  is  to  be  inaugurated. 

Over  5,000,000  marks  and  several  hundred  acres 
of  land  were  required  in  the  little  kingdom  of 
Saxony  to  get  rid  of  the  servitudes  in  the  state 
forests.  The  Prussian  budget  contains  still  an 
item  of  1,000,000  marks  annually  for  this  purpose  ; 
and  although  over  22,000,000  marks  and  nearly 
20,000  acres  of  land  have  been  spent  for  this  pur- 
pose in  Bavaria,  the  state  forests  there  are  still 
most  heavily  burdened  with  servitudes. 

The  doctrine  of  the  regal  right  to  the  chase,  as 
we  have  seen,  led  to  the  gradual  assertion  of  all 
property  rights  to  the  forest  itself,  or  at  least  to 
the  exclusive  control  of  its  use.  This  right  found 
expression  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries 
in  a  legion  of  forest  ordinances,  aiming  at  the 
conservation  and  improvement  of  forest  areas, 
and  abounding  in  detailed  technical  precepts. 

At  first,  treating  the  private  interest  with  some 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS.       305 

consideration,  they  gradually  more  and  more  re- 
strict free  management.  Prohibition  of  absolute 
clearing,  or  at  least  only  with  the  permission  of 
the  government ;  the  command  to  reforest  cleared 
and  waste  places  ;  to  foster  the  young  growth ; 
limiting  the  quality  of  timber  to  be  felled  ;  the  pre- 
vention of  devastation  by  prohibiting  the  pastur- 
ing of  cattle  in  the  young  growth,  rules  in  regard 
to  the  removal  of  the  forest  Htter,  of  pitch  gather- 
ing, etc.,  were  among  these  prescriptions,  with 
many  others,  such  as  prescribing  the  manner 
and  time  of  felling,  the  division  into  regular  fell- 
ing lots,  determination  as  to  what  is  to  be  cut  as 
firewood  and  what  as  building  timber.  Then, 
with  the  increasing  fear  of  a  reduction  in  sup- 
plies, followed  prohibitions  against  exportation, 
against  sale  of  woodlands  to  foreigners,  against 
speculation  in  timber  by  providing  schedules  of 
prices,  and  from  time  to  time  entire  exclusion 
from  sale  of  some  valuable  species.  Even  the 
consumer  was  restricted  and  controlled  in  the 
manner  of  using  wood. 

In  mediaeval  times,  besides  private  forests  of  the 
king  and  lords,  only  the  communal  forest  (all- 
mende)  was  known,  and  small  holdings  of  farmers 
were  comparatively  rare  until  the  end  of  the 
middle  ages. 

The  Thirty-years  War  and  the  following  troub- 
lous times  gave  rise  not  only  to  extended  forest 
devastation,  but  also  to  many  changes  in  owner- 


3o6  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

ship  of  woodlands.  With  the  growing  instability 
of  communal  organization  of  the  "  mark,"  division 
of  the  common  property  took  place,  and  thus 
private  ownership  by  small  farmers  came  about, 
reducing  the  communal  holdings.  Colonization 
schemes  by  holders  of  large  estates  also  led  to 
dismemberment. 

A  very  large  amount  of  the  mark  forest  came 
into  possession  of  the  princes  and  noblemen  by 
force,  and  later  the  possessions  of  the  princes  were 
increased  by  the  secularization  of  the  property  of 
monasteries  and  churches.  Until  the  end  of  the 
last  century  these  domains  belonged  to  the  family 
of  the  prince,  just  as  the  right  to  the  throne  or  the 
governing  of  the  little  dukedom,  thus  contributing 
toward  the  expenses  of  government. 

But  when,  as  a  consequence  of  the  French 
Revolution  and  the  Napoleonic  wars  and  subse- 
quent changes,  the  conception  of  the  rights  of  the 
governing  classes  changed,  and  in  some  states, 
like  Prussia,  much  earlier,  a  division  of  domains 
into  those  which  belonged  to  the  prince's  family 
as  private  property  and  those  which  were  state 
forests  was  effected,  so  that  now  the  following 
classes  of  forest  property  may  be  distinguished  :  — 

(i)  State  forests,  which  are  administered  by  the 
government  for  the  benefit  of  the  commonwealth, 
each  state  of  the  confederation  owning  and  ad- 
ministering its  own. 

(2)  Imperial   forests,   belonging   to   the  empire 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN    NATIONS.       307 

and  administered  for  its  benefit,  situated  in  the 
newly  acquired  province  of  Alsace-Lorraine. 

(3)  Crown  forests  (Fideicommiss),  the  owner- 
ship of  which  remains  in  the  reigning  family, 
which  are  administered  by  state  government,  but 
the  revenues  of  which  are  in  part  applicable  to 
government  expenses. 

(4)  Princely  domains,  which  are  the  exclusive 
and  private  property  of  the  prince. 

(5)  Communal  forests  possessed  by  and  admin- 
istered by  village  and  city  communities,  or  even  by 
provinces  as  a  whole  for  their  own  benefit. 

(6)  Association  forests,  the  remnants  of  the  old 
"  mark  "  forests,  possessed  by  a  number  of  owners, 
the  state  sometimes  being  part  owner. 

(7)  Institute  and  corporation,  school  or  bequest 
forests,  which  belong  to  incorporated  institutions, 
like  churches,  hospitals,  and  other  charitable  institu- 
tions. 

(8)  Private  forests,  of  larger  or  smaller  extent, 
the  exclusive  property  of  private  owners. 

The  proportions  of  these  classes  of  property 
which  existed  in  the  beginning  of  the  century 
experienced  considerable  changes  by  the  sale  of 
state  forests,  the  sales  being  due  partly  to  finan- 
cial distress,  partly  to  a  mistaken  application  of 
Adam  Smith's  theories,  which  supposed  that  free 
competition  would  lead  to  a  better  management 
and  to  the  highest  development  of  the  forest  in- 
dustry as  well  as  of  other  industries. 


308  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

This  tendency,  however,  was  checked  when  the 
fallacy  of  the  theory  became  apparent,  especially 
with  reference  to  a  property  that  demands  con- 
servative treatment  and  involves  such  time  element 
as  we  have  seen. 

The  hopes  which  were  based  on  the  success 
of  individual  efforts  were  not  realized,  and  al- 
though control  of  private  action  had  been  retained 
by  the  state  authorities,  this  could  not  always  be 
exercised,  and  the  necessity  of  strengthening  the 
state  forest  administration  became  apparent.  The 
present  tendency,  therefore,  is  not  only  to  maintain 
the  state  forests,  but  to  extend  their  area  by  pur- 
chase, mostly  of  devastated  or  deforested  areas  and 
by  exchange  for  agricultural  lands  from  the  public 
domain.  Thus,  in  Prussia,  the  increase  of  state 
forest  area  has  been  at  the  rate  of  14,000  acres  per 
year  since  1867;  during  the  decade  1891-1900 
170,000  acres  of  waste  lands  were  added  at  the 
average  cost  of  $10  per  acre,  and  the  budget  of 
1900  contained  $800,000  for  that  purpose.  Bavaria 
spent  about  $6,000,000  in  such  purchases  during 
the  last  50  years. 

In  districts  where  small  farmers  own  extensive 
areas  of  barrens  a  consolidation  is  effected  ;  the 
parcels  of  remaining  forest  and  the  barrens  are 
put  together,  the  state  acquires  these  and  pays 
the  owners  either  in  money  or  other  property. 

In  Prussia,  during  the  decade  1882-1891,  30,000 
acres  were  in  this  way  exchanged  for  1 7,000  acres. 


FOREST    POLICIES   OF    FOREIGN   NATIONS.       309 

and  in  addition  some  200,000  acres,  waste  or 
poorly  wooded,  were  purchased  at  an  expense  of 
$3,500,000,  round  numbers.  During  the  same 
decade  the  reforestation  of  80,000  acres  of  waste 
lands  was  effected,  while  nearly  75,000  acres  in 
the  state's  possession  remained  to  be  reforested. 

The  annual  budget  for  these  reforestations  of 
waste  lands  has  been  $500,000  for  several  years. 

The  area  of  barrens  and  poor  soils  in  Prussia, 
fit  for  forest  purposes  only,  is  estimated  at  over 
6,000,000  acres,  which  it  is  the  policy  of  the  State 
gradually  to  acquire  and  reform. 

The  present  distribution  as  regards  property 
classes  of  the  round  35,000,000  acres  of  forest  in 
the  whole  empire  is  about  as  follows,  varying,  to 
be  sure,  very  considerably  in  the  single  states  of 
the  confederation :  — 

State  and  Crown  forests  (of  which  the  Crown  owns  less  than 

2  per  cent) 32.7 

Imperial  forests i 

Communal  forests  (5,000,000  acres) 15.2 

Association  forests 2.5 

Institute  forests 1. 3 

Private  forests 48.3 

Half  of  the  forest  area  consists  of  small  holdings, 
below  2500  acres,  while  15  per  cent  is  in  over 
12,000  acre  domains.  In  Prussia,  the  private 
forest  property  comprises  53  per  cent,  with  many 
large  domains,  while  the  state  and  Crown  forests 
represent  31  per  cent,  the  communal  forests  12.5 
per  cent,  the  balance  being  institute  forests. 


3 TO       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

The  state  and  Crown  forests  are  all  under  well- 
organized  forest  administrations,  sometimes  ac- 
credited to  the  minister  of  finance,  sometimes  to 
the  minister  of  agriculture.  These  yield  an  an- 
nual net  revenue  of  from  ^i  to  $$  per  acre  of 
forest  area,  with  a  constant  increase  from  year 
to  year,  which  will  presently  be  very  greatly  ad- 
vanced when  the  expenditures  for  road  building 
and  other  improvements  cease. 

In  the  state  management  the  constant  care  is  to 
avoid  sacrificing  the  economic  significance  of  the 
forest  to  the  financial  benefits  that  can  be  derived, 
and  the  amount  cut  is  most  conservative. 

The  Imperial  forests  are  of  course  managed 
in  the  same  spirit  as  those  of  the  several  state 
forests. 

While  the  present  communities,  villages,  towns, 
and  cities  are  only  political  corporations,  they 
still  retain,  in  some  cases  in  part,  the  character  of 
the  "  mark,"  which  was  based  upon  the  holding 
of  property. 

The  supervision  which  the  princes  exercised  in 
their  capacity  of  Obermaerker  or  as  possessors  of 
the  right  to  the  chase,  remained,  although  based  on 
other  principles,  as  a  function  of  the  state,  when 
the  "  mark  "  communities  collapsed ;  the  principles 
being  that  the  state  was  bound  to  protect  the 
interest  of  the  eternal  juristical  person  of  the 
community  against  the  present  trustees,  that  it 
had  to  guard  against  conflicts  between  the  interest 


FOREST    POLICIES    OF   FOREIGN    NATIONS.       311 

of  the  individual  and  that  of  the  community  in  this 
property,  that  it  should  secure  permanency  of  a 
property  which  insures  a  continued  and  increasing 
revenue.  The  principle  upon  which  the  control 
of  these  communal  holdings  rests  is  then  mainly 
a  fiscal  one. 

The  degree  of  control  and  restriction  varies  in 
different  localities.  Sale  and  partition  and  clearing 
of  communal  forest  can  usually  take  place  only 
by  permission  of  the  state  authorities,  and  is 
generally  discountenanced  except  for  good  reasons 
{e.g.  too  much  woods  on  agricultural  soil). 

With  reference  to  5.6  per  cent  of  communal 
forest  property,  this  is  the  only  control,  entirely  of 
a  fiscal  nature.  The  rest  is  more  or  less  closely 
influenced  in  the  character  of  its  management, 
either  by  control  of  its  technicalities  or  else  by 
direct  management  and  administration  on  the  part 
of  the  government. 

Technical  control  makes  it  necessary  that  the 
plans  of  management  be  submitted  to  the  govern- 
ment for  sanction,  and  that  proper  officers  or 
managers  be  employed  who  are  inspected  by 
government  foresters.  This  is  the  general  sys- 
tem, under  which  49.4  per  cent  of  communal  forests 
are  managed  (as  also  in  Austria  and  Switzerland), 
giving  greatest  latitude  and  yet  securing  conserva- 
tive management.  To  facilitate  the  management  of 
smaller  areas  several  properties  may  be  combined 
under  one  manager,  or  else  a  neighboring  govern- 


312  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

ment  or  private  forest  manager  may  be  employed 
to  look  after  the  technical  management. 

Where  direct  management  by  the  state  exists, 
the  state  performs  the  management  by  its  own 
agents  with  only  advisory  power  of  the  communal 
authorities,  — a  system  under  which  45  per  cent  of 
the  communal  forests  are  managed  (also  in  Austria 
and  France). 

In  Prussia  this  system  exists  in  a  few  localities 
only,  but  since  1876  it  is  there  provided  as  penalty 
for  improper  management  or  attempts  to  avoid 
the  state  control. 

This  system  curtails,  to  be  sure,  communal 
liberty  and  possibly  financial  results  to  some  ex- 
tent, but  it  has  proved  itself  the  most  satisfactory 
from  the  standpoint  of  conservative  forest  manage- 
ment and  in  the  interest  of  present  and  future 
welfare  of  the  communities.  Its  extension  is 
planned  both  in  Prussia  and  Bavaria. 

Sometimes  the  state  contributes  toward  the  cost 
of  the  management,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  carried 
on  in  the  interests  of  the  whole  commonwealth. 
A  voluntary  cooperation  of  the  communities  with 
the  state,  in  regard  to  forest  protection  by  the 
state  forest  guards,  is  in  vogue  in  Wiirtemberg, 
as  also  in  France.  Institute  forests  are  usually 
under  similar  control  as  the  communities. 

The  amount  of  state  influence,  and  especially 
the  control  of  private  forests,  is  extremely  vary- 
in  tr  from  state  to  state,  even  for  the   same  state 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS.      313 

in  different  districts.  A  direct  state  control  of 
some  kind  is  exercised  over  only  29.7  per  cent 
of  the  private  forest,  mostly  in  southern  and  mid- 
dle Germany,  while  70.3  per  cent  of  the  private 
property  is  entirely  without  control. 

As  far  as  the  large  land-owners  are  concerned, 
this  has  mostly  been  of  no  detriment,  as  they  are 
usually  taking  advantage  of  rational  management ; 
but  the  small  peasant  holdings  show  the  bad  effects 
of  this  liberty  quite  frequently  in  the  devasted 
condition  of  the  woods  and  waste  places.  As  a 
competent  writer  puts  it :  "  The  freedom  of  private 
forest  ownership  has  led  in  Prussia  not  only  to 
forest  dismemberment  and  devastation,  but  often 
to  change  of  forest  into  field.  On  good  soils  the 
result  is  something  permanently  better  ;  on  medium 
and  poor  soils  the  result  has  been  that  agriculture, 
after  the  fertility  stored  up  by  the  forest  has  been 
exhausted,  has  become  unprofitable.  These  soils 
are  now  utterly  ruined  and  must  be  reforested  as 
waste  lands." 

Need,-  avarice,  speculation,  and  penury  were 
developed  into  forest  destruction  when  in  the  be- 
ginning of  this  century  the  individualistic  theories 
led  to  an  abandonment  of  the  control  hitherto 
existing,  and  it  was  found  out  that  the  principle  so 
salutary  in  agriculture  and  other  industries  was  a 
fatal  error  in  forestry. 

According  to  the  character  of  state  control,  the 
entire  forest  area  may  be  classified  as  follows :  — 


314  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

(i)  Managed  by  state  authorities  as  state  prop- 
erty, 11,360,000  acres,  which  is  32.7  per  pent. 

(2)  Managed  by  the  state  authorities,  but  the 
property  of  corporations,  villages,  towns,  etc.,  a  lit- 
tle over  2,212,000  acres,  which  is  6.3  per  cent. 

(3)  Under  strict  government  control,  the  plans 
of  management  and  the  permissible  cut  having  to 
be  approved  by  state  authorities  (corporation  prop- 
erty), 3,875,000  acres,  which  is  ii.i  per  cent. 

(4)  Under  supervision  of  the  state,  not  only  as 
common  property  but  as  special  property,  subject 
to  inspection  and,  in  part,  to  control  of  state  forest 
authorities  (nearly  all  private  property  and  that 
partly  belonging  to  large  estates),  4,767,000  acres, 
which  is  13.7  per  cent. 

(5)  Without  any  government  control  or  super- 
vision beyond  that  of  common  property,  11,490,- 
000  acres,  which  is  33  per  cent.  These  forests 
may  be  divided,  sold,  cleared,  and  mismanaged, 
except  under  the  certain  cases  before  mentioned. 
Here  belong  all  private  forests  of  Saxony  and 
Prussia  and  part  of  the  corporation  forests  of 
Prussia  and  all  those  of  Saxony. 

Where  control  of  private  forests  exists  it  takes 
various  forms  :  — 

(i)  Prohibition  to  clear  permanently  or  at  least 
necessity  to  ask  permission  exists  in  Wiirtemberg, 
Baden,  and  partially  in  Bavaria.  (Protection  of 
adjoin ers  !) 

(2)  Enforced  reforestation  within  a  given  time 


FOREST   POLICIES    OF    FOREIGN    NATIONS.       315 

after  removal  of  the  old  growth  and  occasionally 
on  open  ground  where  public  safety  requires. 

(3)  Prohibition  of  devastation  or  deterioration  — 
a  vague  and  undefinable  provision. 

(4)  Definite  prescription  as  to  the  manner  of 
cutting  (especially  on  sand-dunes,  along  river 
courses,  etc.). 

(5)  Enforced  employment  of  qualified personnc/. 
In  addition  to  all  these  measures  of  restriction, 

control  and  police,  and  enforcement,  there  should 
be  mentioned  the  measures  of  encouragement, 
which  consist  in  the  opportunity  for  the  education 
of  foresters,  dissemination  of  information,  and 
iinancial  aid. 

In  the  latter  direction  Prussia,  in  the  decade 
1 882-1 892,  contributed  for  reforestation  of  waste 
places  by  private  owners  $335,000,  besides  large 
amounts  of  seeds  and  plants  from  its  state  nurs- 
eries. Instruction  in  forestry  to  farmers  is  given  at 
twelve  agricultural  schools  in  Prussia.  In  nearly 
all  states  permission  is  given  to  government  offi- 
cers to  undertake  for  compensation  at  the  request 
of  the  owners  the  regulation  or  even  the  manage- 
ment of  private  forest  property. 

For  the  education  of  the  lower  class  of  foresters 
there  may  be  about  twenty  special  schools  in  Ger- 
many and  Austria,  while  for  the  higher  classes  not 
only  ten  special  forest  academies  are  available,  but 
three  universities  and  two  polytechnic  institutes 
have  forestry  faculties. 


3l6  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

Besides,  all  states  have  lately  inaugurated  sys- 
terns  of  forest  experiment  stations ;  and  forestry 
associations,  not  of  propagandists  but  of  practition- 
ers, abound.  As  a  result  of  all  this  activity  in  for- 
estry science  and  practice,  not  less  than  twenty 
forestry  journals  in  the  German  language  exist, 
besides  many  official  and  association  reports  and 
a  most  prolific  book  literature. 

Germany,  as  constituted  at  present,  has  an  area 
of  133,000,000  acres  —  about  one-fifteenth  of  our 
country,  —  a  population  of  about  47,000,000,  or  less 
than  3  acres  per  capita,  or  only  one-tenth  of  our 
per  capita  average.  Its  forests  cover  34,700,000 
acres,  or  26  per  cent  of  the  entire  land  surface. 
A  large  portion  of  the  forests  cover  the  poorer, 
chiefly  sandy,  soils  of  the  North  German  plains, 
or  occupy  the  rough,  hilly,  and  steeper  mountain 
lands  of  the  numerous  smaller  mountain  systems, 
and  a  small  portion  of  the  northern  slopes  of  the 
Alps.  They  are  distributed  rather  evenly  over 
the  entire  empire.  Prussia,  with  66  per  cent  of 
the  entire  land  area,  and  also  of  the  entire  forest 
area,  possesses  23.5  per  cent  of  forest  land,  while 
the  rest  of  the  larger  states  have  each  over  30 
per  cent,  except  small,  industrious  Saxony,  which 
lies  intermediate,  with  27  per  cent  of  forest  cover. 

In  spite  of  the  care  bestowed  upon  the  manage- 
ment of  this  resource,  which  is  constantly  yielding 
larger  returns  as  the  properties  get  into  regular 
working  order,  —  the  output  now  is  probably  1500 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS.       317 

million  cubic  feet  of  wood  over  3-inch,  or  nearly 
40  cubic  feet  per  acre,  —  Germany  is  next  to  Eng- 
land the  largest  importer  of  wood  materials,  with 
$70,000,000  excess  of  imports  over  exports,  adding 
25  per  cent  to  her  home  product. 

The  condition  of  the  forests  depends  largely 
on  the  amount  of  control  exercised  by  the  state 
authorities.  It  is  best  in  all  cases  in  the  state 
forests,  it  is  almost  equally  as  good  in  the  cor- 
poration forests  under  state  control,  and  is  poorest 
in  the  private  forests,  particularly  those  of  small 
holders. 

The  control  of  the  corporation  forests  is  perfect 
in  a  few  of  the  smaller  states  only,  notably  Baden, 
Hesse,  and  Alsace-Lorraine ;  also  in  some  districts 
in  Prussia  where  the  corporation  forests  are  man- 
aged by  the  state  authorities,  the  wishes  of  the 
villagers  or  corporate  owners  being,  however, 
always  duly  considered.  In  a  large  portion  of 
Prussia,  in  Wiirtemberg,  and  in  Bavaria  the  cor- 
poration provides  its  own  foresters ;  but  these, 
as  well  as  their  plans  of  operation,  must  be  ap- 
proved by  the  state  authorities,  so  that  here  the 
management  is  under  strict  control  of  the  state, 
and  favorable  forest  conditions  are  at  least  partially 
assured.  In  Wiirtemberg  the  corporation  is  given 
the  choice  of  supplying  its  own  foresters  or  else  of 
joining  their  forests  to  those  of  the  state.  This  has 
led  to  state  management  of  nearly  70  per  cent  of 
all  corporation  forests.     Only  the  corporation  for- 


3l8  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

ests  of  Saxony  and  those  of  a  small  part  of  Prussia 
are  without  any  supervision.  Of  the  private  for- 
ests, those  of  Prussia  and  Saxony,  involving  69  per 
cent  of  all  private  forests  of  the  empire,  are  en- 
tirely free  from  interference.  They  can  be  man- 
aged as  the  owner  sees  fit,  and  there  is  no  obstacle 
to  their  devastation  or  entire  clearing  and  conver- 
sion into  field  or  pasture.  The  remainder  of  the 
private  forests  are  under  more  or  less  supervision. 
In  most  districts  a  state  permit  is  required  before 
land  can  be  cleared.  Devastation  is  an  offence, 
and  in  some  states,  notably  Wurtemberg,  a  badly 
neglected  forest  property  may  be  reforested  and 
managed  by  state  authorities.  In  nearly  all  states 
laws  exist  with  regard  to  so-called  "  protection  for- 
ests," i.e.  forests  needed  to  prevent  floods,  sand 
blowing,  land  and  snow  slides,  or  to  insure  regu- 
larity of  water  supply,  etc.  Forests  proved  to  fall 
under  this  category  are  under  special  control,  but 
as  it  is  not  easy  in  most  cases  to  prove  the  protec- 
tive importance  of  a  forest,  the  laws  are  difificult 
to  apply  and  not  always  enforced. 

An  increase  of  state  supervision  over  private 
forests  has  been  attempted  in  Prussia  by  the 
establishment  of  a  law  previously  referred  to, 
which  renders  the  owner  of  a  forest  liable  for 
the  damage  which  the  devastation  or  clearing 
of  his  forest  property  causes  to  his  neighbor. 
This  law,  however,  is  so  difificult  to  apply,  and 
puts   the   plaintiff   to    so   great    expense,  that   so 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS.       319 

far  it  has  not  been  enforced  to  any  extent  ex- 
cept where  the  government  itself  is  the  injured 
party. 

Lately,  as  a  result  of  destructive  floods  in  Prus- 
sian rivers,  extension  of  supervision  by  the  state 
is  urged  again. 

Altogether  we  can  distinguish  the  South  German 
policy  which  has  been  always  inclined  to  be  re- 
strictive and  coercive,  from  the  North  German 
tendencies  which  have  only  lately  developed  in 
this  direction.  The  difference  is  perhaps  due  to 
the  fact  that  South  Germany  is  mainly  mountain 
country.  North  Germany  mainly  plain. 

The  unusual  floods  in  the  Prussian  rivers,  es- 
pecially the  Oder,  during  the  last  decade,  which 
occasioned  over  $2,500,000  damage,  led  to  the 
appointment  of  a  commission  —  just  as  this  year 
in  the  state  of  New  York  —  to  propose  remedies. 
In  the  two  reports  made  in  1896  and  1898,  the 
influence  of  forest  cover  on  retardation  of  snow- 
melting,  and  of  the  forest  floor  on  retardation  of 
run-off  are  admitted,  but  forest  conditions  are  found 
tolerably  satisfactory.  Nevertheless,  new  legisla- 
tion is  proposed  to  supervise  private  forest  man- 
agement so  as  to  preserve  existing  conditions,  the 
following  points  being  made  :  — 

1.  The  forest  areas  which  are  of  importance  to 
the  watershed  must  be  definitely  determined. 

2.  A  prescription  for  their  management  is  only 
to  be  made,  and  if  the  management  is  found  un- 


320  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

satisfactory   by    the    county  president,  an  appeal 
may  be  made  to  the  courts. 

3.  Clearing  may  be  forbidden,  subject  to  appeal. 

4.  If  unpermitted  clearing  is  made,  reforesta- 
tion may  be  enforced,  but  there  is  no  right  to  force 
reforestation  of  lands  now  not  in  forest. 

5.  The  ploughing  of  slopes  may  be  forbidden, 
and  regulation  of  drainage  channels  ordered,  but  in 
that  case  the  corporation,  for  whose  sake  this  is 
done,  must  pay  the  cost  or  damage  to  the  owner. 

6.  The  state  is  to  give  financial  aid  in  secur- 
ing this  work. 

Quite  different  in  tone  is  the  Bavarian  law  of 
1852,  revised  and  accentuated  in  1896,  which  ab- 
solutely forbids  clearing,  as  well  as  any  severe 
thinning,  except  by  permission,  in  all  protection 
forests,  namely,  on  tops  of  mountains  and  ridges 
and  steep  slopes,  on  the  high  Alps  where  danger 
from  land  and  snov/  slides  is  to  be  anticipated,  or  on 
sand-dunes,  and  wherever  waterflow  is  influenced. 
The  forest  administration,  either  at  the  request  of 
the  owner  or,  on  its  own  motion  and  final  decision, 
by  the  forest  courts,  is  to  decide  whether  or  not  a 
forest  property  falls  in  this  category.  The  plans 
of  management  for  such  properties  must  be  sub- 
mitted for  sanction  by  the  government  under 
penalty  of  ^20  to  $3CX),  and  even  $600,  per  acre 
for  any  disobedience.  Nor  does  the  state  recog- 
nize any  obligation  to  compensate  the  owner  for 
such  restriction  in  the  use  of  his  property,  although 


a  proposition  is  now  under  discussion  to  give  a 
tax  release  for  20  years  for  reforested  tracts,  pro- 
vided the  owner  foregoes  all  use  of  it  for  that 
period. 

The  two  smaller  states  of  Baden  and  Wiirtem- 
berg  seem  to  have  succeeded  better  than  any 
other  states  in  their  restrictive  policies.  Wurtem- 
berg  began  proper  measures,  which  have  remained 
fundamental,  as  early  as  1614,  remodelhng  them 
in  1875  and  1879. 

The  "forest  police  law  "  of  1879  decides  :  — 

{a)  Clearing  of  forest  requires  a  state  permit: 
illegal  clearing  is  punished  with  a  fine. 

(b)  A  neglected  piece  of  forest  shall  not  be- 
come waste  land  ;  the  state  authority  sees  to  its 
reforestation  with  or  without  help  of  owner,  the 
expenses  to  be  charged  to  the  forest. 

{c)  If  the  state  forester  is  convinced  that  a  pri- 
vate owner  cuts  too  much  wood  or  otherwise  mis- 
manages his  forest,  he  is  to  warn  the  owner,  and 
if  this  warning  is  not  heeded,  the  forest  authority 
may  take  in  hand  and  manage  the  particular  tract. 

(d)  Owners  of  small  tracts  of  forest  can  com- 
bine into  associations  and  can  place  their  properties 
with  municipal  or  even  state  forests  for  protec- 
tion and  management.  In  the  latter  case  they 
share  the  advantages  of  part  of  the  municipal  or 
communal  forests  which  are  managed  by  state 
authorities. 

The  law  of    1875   relating  to  the   management 


322  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

and  supervision  of  forests  belonging  to  villages, 
towns,  and  other  public  corporations,  about  one- 
third  of  the  forest  area,  places  all  the  forests  un- 
der this  category  under  direct  state  supervision  ; 
there  being  a  special  division  of  corporation  or 
municipal  forests  in  connection  with  the  state 
forestry  bureau.  The  law  demands  that  all  cor- 
poration forests  be  managed  in  accordance  with 
the  principles  of  a  continued  supply,  the  same  as 
the  state  forests.  The  corporation  may  employ 
its  own  foresters,  but  these  must  be  approved  by 
the  forestry  bureau  and  are  responsible  for  the 
proper  execution  of  the  plans  of  management. 
These  plans  are  prepared  by  the  foresters  and 
must  be  approved  by  the  state  forest  authorities. 
If  preferred,  the  corporation  may  leave  the  man- 
agement of  its  forests  entirely  to  the  state  au- 
thorities. This  is  always  done  if  a  corporation 
neglects  to  fill  the  position  of  its  forester  within 
a  certain  period  after  it  becomes  vacant.  Where 
the  state  forest  authorities  manage  either  corpora- 
tion or  private  forest,  the  forest  is  charged  with  eight 
cents  per  acre  and  year  for  this  administration. 
This  fee  is  generally  less  than  it  costs,  so  that  the 
state  has  been  really  making  a  sacrifice  so  far  in 
providing  a  satisfactory  management  for  these 
forests. 

The  forest  policy  of  Baden  has  also  been  con- 
servative for  a  long  time,  and  there  is  no  state 
in  Germany  where  the  general  conditions  of  the 


FOREST    POLICIES    OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS. 


323 


forests  are  better.  Since  all  municipal  and  cor- 
poration forests  are  under  direct  state  control, 
being  managed  by  the  state  forest  authorities, 
about  910,000  acres,  or  over  60  per  cent  of  all 
forests,  enjoy  a  careful,  conservative  treatment, 
which  insures  to  them  the  largest  possible  return 
in  wood  and  money.  But  even  the  private  for- 
ests, representing  another  third  of  the  forest  area, 
are  under  the  supervision  of  the  state  authorities, 
and  though  the  private  owner  may  use  his  forest 
very  much  as  he  pleases,  he  can  in  no  way 
devastate  or  seriously  injure  it.  Clearing  re- 
quires a  permit,  even  a  complete  clearing  cut, 
which  latter  is  permitted  only  if  the  owner  guar- 
antees the  reforestation  of  the  denuded  area  within 
a  given  time.  Bare  and  neglected  spots  in  forests 
must  be  restocked,  and  failure  of  private  owners 
to  comply  with  the  forest  rules  and  laws  leads  to 
temporary  management  of  the  forest  by  the  state 
authorities,  such  management  never  to  continue 
less  than  ten  years. 

It  is  evident  that  the  existence  of  thoroughly 
organized,  efficient  state  forest  administrations 
make  the  execution  of  the  laws  regarding  the  use 
of  forest  properties  comparatively  easy,  and  from 
the  technical  point  of  view  the  supervision  compe- 
tent. Moreover,  the  good  example  which  the 
forest  management  of  the  state  sets  is  of  most 
salutary  influence,  especially  in  showing  that  such 
management  pays. 


324  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

By  good  management  for  "  sustained  yield  "  the 
yearly  cut  has  been  increased,  in  some  cases 
doubled,  since  the  beginning  of  the  century,  and 
the  income  has  increased  of  course  in  greater  rate, 
partly  due  to  advance  in  prices  for  wood,  which 
for  a  long  series  of  years  has  not  been  less  than 
i^  per  cent  annually,  partly  to  increase, in  the 
quality  of  the  output,  but  largely  to  improvements 
in  transportation,  for  which  large  sums  have  been 
expended,  especially  during  the  last  fifty  years. 
The  future  promises  even  greater  returns,  when 
all  the  properties  are  in  working  order  and  covered 
with  road  systems. 

Moreover,  it  is  beHeved  that  the  state  adminis- 
trations are  now  less  profitable  than  they  might  be, 
as  they  are  managed  with  great  conservatism  and 
without  an  attempt  at  greatest  financial  results,  the 
economic  objects  being  kept  foremost. 

The  following  tables  give  most  briefly  an  insight 
into  the  financial  aspect  of  forest  management  of 
the  leading  states.  They  show  that  the  financial 
results  vary  considerably  for  the  different  adminis- 
trations, owing  largely  to  differences  in  market 
conditions ;  they  also  show  the  increase  of  revenue 
from  1890  to  1897.  The  figures  for  the  whole 
country  are  in  part  rounded-off  estimates  for  all 
the  state  forests.  The  record  of  the  city  of 
Zurich  is  added  to  show  how  an  intensively  man- 
aged small  forest  property  under  most  favorable 
conditions  of  market  compares  with  the  more  ex- 


FOREST    POLICIES    OF    FOREIGN    NATIONS. 


325 


•doJO  3ui}3>(JEJ^ 


•uoijoajojd  puE 
uoi;EJjsiuiuipv 


■3UIODUI 
SSOjg  JO  1U3D  I3J 


N  'i-  N  ■<l^ 


«   N   -   u-1  O 


r^  to  On  00  00 


vo  00  ^D  r^ 


O   LTl  O  ^ 

ro  rn  -"  00 


^ 

cs 

- 

" 

§ 

00 

« 

^ 

r^ 

1 

« 

^ 

^ 

li-1 

n 

M 

0     Ln   fi     -t    o 

q_  "_  q,  q,  -:^ 
00  rn  «  i-T 


<  q,  -  '^  ^ 


■"  ^  «j  c  «  o 

(£  w  ^  c«  m  0 


326 


ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 


3 
I 

14 

5 

§ 

On    i^    q 
r^    TJ-    (^ 

S 
H 

is 

s  8 

1" 

^O     0\    "^    ''O    0^ 
00     ^    ~     ~ 

1 

1^ 

w     «■     N     N     fi 

H 

•is 

S   o 

ON    "     ^    P)    00 

6 

cJ     ro  \d   vd    >^ 

2 

11 

u->   O     On    "^   t^ 

^    O     "I    NO     m 
Tj-    -      O    C«      "^ 

rC  00    ro   fT    -T 

11 

3^ 

•^    tS     «     O     fO 
un   r^  OO     ON    t^ 

1 

2 

^ 

^ 

1 

0 

c 

FOREST   POLICIES    OF   FOREIGN    NATIONS.       327 

Percentic  Distribution  of  Main  Expenditures,  1897. 


State  forest  of — 

Total  ex. 
penses. 

Adminis- 
tration  and 
protection 
(mostly 
salaries). 

Cutting  and 

moving  the 

timber. 

Planting, 
sowing, 
drainage, 
work,  wood 
roads,  etc. 

Prussia 

Bavaria 

Wurtemberg     .     .     . 

Saxony    

Baden     

Per  cent. 
52 
48 
40 
36 
46 

Per  cent. 
21 

24 
12 
12 

94 

Per  cent. 
14.8 
20 
14.6 
14.5 
17.7 

Per  cent. 

7-5 
6.6 
8.6 
6.4 
10.4 

tensively  managed  larger  forest  areas.  Judging 
from  the  results  of  the  state  administrations,  it 
can  be  assumed  that  Germany  produces  annually 
wood  values  equal  in  amount  to  England's  con- 
sumption, namely,  somewhat  over  ^100,000,000,  or 
$3.00  gross  and  probably  $1.75  net  per  acre,  from 
soils  that  are  mostly  not  fit  for  any  other  use,  and 
which  by  being  so  used  contribute  to  other  favor- 
able cultural  conditions. 

This  net  income,  figured  at  3  per  cent,  would 
make  the  capital  value  of  soil  and  growing  stock 
nearly  $60  per  acre,  and  the  value  of  the  entire 
forest  resource  of  Germany  2000  million  dollars. 

The  revenues  have  apparently  risen  with  the 
increase  of  expenditures.  In  1850,  when  Prussia 
expended  only  37  cents  per  acre,  her  net  income 
was  46  cents;  in  1901  her  expenditure  had  in- 
creased to  $1.43  and  her  gross  revenue  to  ^2.87, 


328  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

although  wood  prices  for  the  entire  Prussian  cut  of 
300,000,000  cubic  feet  have  in  that  period  advanced 
only  37  per  cent ;  while  Saxony  expended  80  cents 
per  acre  in  the  beginning  of  the  century  and  netted 
95  cents,  to-day  she  spends  three  times  the  amount 
and  has  increased  her  revenue  nearly  fivefold. 

The  table  of  the  distribution  of  expenditures  is 
especially  interesting,  showing  that  even  in  Saxony, 
the  very  state  where  the  timber  is  usually  cut  clean 
and  the  land  restocked  entirely  by  planting  with 
nursery  stock,  the  item  of  planting,  etc.,  uses  up 
the  smallest  portion  of  the  income. 

From  this  brief  outline  it  will  be  apparent  that 
forestry  in  its  modern  sense  is  not  a  new,  untried 
experiment  in  Germany,  but  that  care  and  active 
legislative  consideration  of  the  forest  wealth  dates 
back  more  than  four  centuries ;  that  the  accurate 
official  records  of  several  states  for  the  last  one 
hundred  years  prove  conclusively  that  wherever  a 
systematic,  continuous  effort  has  been  made,  as  in 
the  case  of  all  state  forests,  whether  of  large  or 
small  territories,  the  enterprise  has  been  successful ; 
that  it  has  proved  of  great  advantage  to  the  country, 
furnished  a  handsome  revenue  where  otherwise  no 
returns  could  be  expected,  led  to  the  establishment 
of  permanent  woodworking  industries,  and  has 
given  opportunity  for  labor  and  capital  to  be  active, 
not  spasmodically,  not  speculatively,  but  continu- 
ously and  with  assurance  of  success.  This  rule 
has,  fortunately,  not  a  single  exception.      To  be 


FOREST   POLICIES   OF   FOREIGN   NATIONS.       329 

sure,  isolated  tracts  away  from  railroad  or  water, 
sand-dunes,  and  rocky  promontories  exist  in  every 
state,  and  the  management  of  these  poor  forest 
areas  costs  all  the  tract  can  bring  and  often  more ; 
but  the  wood  is  needed,  the  dune  or  waste  is  a 
nuisance,  and  the  state  has  found  it  profitable  to 
convert  it  into  forest,  even  though  the  direct  reve- 
nue falls  short  of  the  expense. 

The  unsatisfactory  condition  of  many  of  the 
private  forests  and  their  uneconomic  exploitation, 
due  to  the  speculative  spirit  developed  after  the 
Franco-German  War,  are  deplored,  exposed,  and 
discussed  with  a  view  of  extending  state  supervision. 
In  Bavaria,  in  spite  of  severe  prescriptions  and  in 
spite  of  the  assistance  given  by  the  state,  which 
distributed  127,000,000  plants  during  the  years 
1 893- 1 899,  deforestation  is  in  excess  of  reforesta- 
tion, and  the  private  forest  diminishes.  Similarly 
in  Prussia  during  the  last  twenty  years  over  75,000 
acres  were  deforested  by  private  owners,  although 
the  state  here  too  is  exhausting  all  ameliorative  and 
persuasive  means,  which,  however,  remain  ineffec- 
tive. Hence  the  state  buys  the  half-wastes,  restocks 
them  at  great  expense,  and  thus  public  money 
pays  for  public  folly  in  not  restricting  ill  use  of 
forest  properties. 

Of  extra-European  countries  and  nations,  we 
should  at  least  mention /apan,  as  one  that  has  had 
a  forest  policy  earlier  than  any  of  the  European 
nations,  and  has  now  as  efficient  and  modern  ap- 


330  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

paratus  to  carry  it  into  effect  as  any,  Germany 
hardly  excepted. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  historical  de- 
velopment of  this  policy  considerably  resembles 
Teutonic  development  under  the  feudal  system. 
During  the  first  century  after  Christ,  and  repeat- 
edly during  later  ones,  frequent  edicts  were  issued 
to  enforce  the  planting  of  watersheds  to  alleviate 
floods,  and  the  state  representatives,  the  provincial 
princes,  from  early  times  took  active  interest  and 
supervised  the  fellings. ^ 

The  forests  thus  protected  by  strict  laws  re- 
mained in  comparatively  good  condition,  so  that 
in  1867,  when  the  great  modern  change  in  the 
government  of  Japan  took  place,  they  came  into 
imperial  hands  nearly  unimpaired.  A  department 
of  forestry,  instituted  in  1874,  in  the  department 
of  the  interior,  has  the  management  of  the  state 
forests,  which  comprise  17,500,000  acres,  or  30  per 
cent  of  the  total  forest  area  of  57,000,000  acres. 
Some  of  the  private  forests,  namely,  those  declared 
protection  forests,  are  under  supervision.  A  forest 
academy,  according  to  German  models,  and  at  first 
manned  by  German  foresters,  was  established  in 
1882,  which  in  1890  was  incorporated  with  the 
University  at  Tokio. 

1  See  an  interesting  historical  sketch  in  Zeitschrift  fur  Jas 
gesammie  Forstwesen,  1900. 


CHAPTER   XI. 
FOREST   CONDITIONS   OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 

If  considered  simultaneously  from  botanical, 
geographical,  and  economic  points  of  view,  the 
forests  of  North  America  are  unique  in  the  world. 

The  forests -of  the  tropics  are  richer  in  species  ; 
there  are  contiguous  forest  areas  of  greater  extent 
in  other  parts  of  the  world,  and  other  countries 
possess  forests  of  as  high  economic  value.  But  it 
may  be  fairly  truthfully  claimed,  that  in  no  part  of 
the  world  is  to  be  found  in  combination  under  the 
ownership  of  one  nation,  a  forest  area  of  so  large 
extent,  of  so  high  economic  value,  furnishing  such 
a  large  number  of  species  of  such  varied  useful- 
ness and  in  such  accessible  form  and  condition. 

Geographically  and  botanically  we  must  differ- 
entiate the  country  into  two  absolutely  unlike 
types,  namely  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  type. 

Practically  the  entire  surface  on  the  Atlantic  side 

—  west  to  a  meandering  line,  which  follows  more 
or  less  closely  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  runs  no- 
where beyond  the  ninety-ninth  degree  of  longitude 

—  was  originally  a  vast  continuous  forest  compris- 
ing  somewhat  over  one  million  square   miles,  or 

331 


332  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

about  700  million  acres, ^  of  which  less  than  40  per 
cent,  or  less  than  300  million  acres,  have  been 
turned  into  farm  lands,  and  an  unknown  acreage 
has  been  culled  of  its  valuable  stores  of  timber, 
ravaged  by  fire,  or  turned  into  useless  brush  lands. 

The  area  to  the  west,  almost  twice  as  large,  — 
1200  million  acres,  —  is  mainly  a  forestless,  often 
treeless  area  into  which  stretch  like  narrow  penin- 
sulas of  varying  width  from  the  north  the  forested 
mountain  ranges  of  the  Rockies,  not  exceeding 
100  million  acres  of  woodlands  and  the  forest  of 
the  Sierras  and  coast  ranges  of  the  Pacific  with 
nearly  the  same  acreage. 

The  Atlantic  forest  occupying  the  humid  regions 
of  the  United  States  and  covering  both  valleys  and 
mountains,  composed  of  a  large  variety  of  broad- 
leaved  species  with  conifers  intermixed,  gradually 
changes  to  the  westward  into  the  prairie  country, 
practically  forestless,  although  not  treeless,  where 
trees  and  forests  of  an  inferior  character  are  capa- 
ble of  growing,  but  where  the  grasses  are  able  to 
compete  successfully  with  the  arborescent  flora. 

To  the  west  of  the  prairie  belt  lie  the  plains 
and  semi-arid  regions,  including  deserts,  irrigable 

^The  figures  used  in  this  chapter  lay  no  claim  to  statistical  ac- 
curacy but  are  merely  rough  approximations,  sufficient  to  give  a 
general  idea  of  relationships,  such  as  the  economist  needs.  There 
are  no  accurate  data  at  hand  ;  when  not  even  the  areas  of  the  different 
states  are  accurately  known,  official  authorities  differing  widely,  it 
is  useless  to  attempt  anything  but  rounded-off  figures. 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  333 

valleys,  forestless  plateaus,  and  mountains,  where 
tree  growth  is  entirely  absent  or  stunted,  unless 
artificially  fostered.  It  is  into  this  type  of  coun- 
try that  the  Rocky  Mountain  forest  protrudes,  of 
coniferous  composition,  for  the  most  part  of  in- 
ferior development,  except  in  the  more  northern 
portion  ;  and  similarly,  paralleling  the  coast  from 
north  to  south,  extends  the  Pacific  forest  along  the 
mountain  slopes  of  the  Cascades,  Sierra  Nevada, 
and  Coast  Range,  practically  almost  wholly  com- 
posed of  conifers,  often  of  most  magnificent  de- 
velopment, with  only  few  broad-leaved  species. 

For  the  purposes  of  this  volume  it  is  not 
necessary  to  consider  the  forest  conditions  of  the 
newly  acquired  outlying  dependencies  and  of  the 
far-removed  Alaskan  territory,  except  to  state  that 
the  interior  of  Alaska,  being  in  the  main  an  arid 
country  with  a  short  season  of  vegetation,  is 
forested  in  the  manner  of  such  countries,  the  tree 
growth  mostly  stunted  and  open,  while  the  Alaska 
coast  forest  partakes  of  the  character  of  the  Pacific 
coast  forest,  with  fewer  species  of  conifers  (mostly 
only  hemlock  and  spruce)  of  inferior  develop- 
ment. 

The  distribution  then  of  forest  country  and  open 
country  is  most  uneven  ;  three-fourths  of  the  wood- 
lands being  concentrated  on  one  side  of  the  conti- 
nent, the  remaining  fourth  being  collocated  in  two 
parcels  on  the  two  great  mountain  systems  of  the 
other  side  of  the  continent. 


334  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

This  distribution  is,  of  course,  mainly  due  to 
climatic  conditions ;  low  relative  humidity  of  the 
air  and  deficiency  of  water  supplies  in  the  soil 
having  much  to  do  with  the  absence  of  forest  cover 
over  the  larger  part  of  our  domain. 

The  economic  significance  of  this  condition 
comes  with  the  realization  that  the  bulk  of  the 
best  agricultural  soils  of  the  United  States  lies 
within  the  forestless  region,  and  also  that  eventu- 
ally the  irrigable  portion  of  the  arid  regions  is 
destined  to  be  the  richest,  dependent  on  a  rational 
management  of  water  supplies,  i.e.  of  the  forest 
cover.  On  the  other  hand,  while  undoubtedly  the 
productive  timber  area  of  this  region  may  be  arti- 
ficially extended  in  a  small  degree,  the  main  timber 
production  of  the  country  will  have  to  be  secured 
where  nature  originally  placed  it,  namely  on  the 
east  side  of  the  continent,  where  cUmate  favors 
forest  growth,  and  diversity  of  surface  conditions 
differentiates  farm  and  forest  soils.  Here,  where 
the  centre  of  population  lies,  and  with  it  the  bulk 
of  consumption,  the  problems  of  forestry  and  of 
timber  production  need  foremost  attention. 

So  far,  of  the  vast  domain  of  the  United  States 
(1,900,800,000  acres)  not  one-fourth  is  occupied  by 
farms ;  in  most  sections  of  the  forest  country  the 
farm  area  ^  falls  below  50  per  cent  and  in  no  state 
does  it  exceed  84  per  cent.     A  vast  area,  there- 

iThe  Census  of  1900  gives  the  farm  area  as  841,201,000  acres, 
of  which,  however,  only  49.3  per  cent  are  reported  as  improved. 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  335 

fore,  is  not  yet  appropriated  to  any  particular 
use,  being  wild  lands,  waste,  or  under  forest. 

The  acreage  given  above  would  indicate  a  for- 
ested area  of  not  exceeding  650  million  acres, 
namely,  the  900  million  acres  as  given  above,  less 
the  improved  farm  area  in  the  forest  country,  which 
amounts  to  about  250  million  acres ;  but  it  should 
be  well  understood  that  this  represents  merely 
woodlands,  areas  covered  with  woody  growth, 
which  must  be  very  considerably  reduced  if  we 
apply  the  economic  point  of  view  and  include  only 
areas  that  contain  or  can  without  human  aid  prod- 
uce timber  useful  for  the  arts,  —  if  we  discuss,  in 
other  words,  the  forest  area  not  as  a  natural  con- 
dition, but  as  a  national  resource. 

Not  only  are  large  areas,  especially  in  the  west- 
ern country,  occupied  by  trees  incapable  of  grow- 
ing to  valuable  size  or  quality,  but  in  the  eastern 
forest  country  there  are  large  areas  from  which  all 
valuable  growth  has  been  removed  by  axe  and 
fire.  These  are  sometimes  turned  into  actual  bar- 
rens or  are  occupied  by  useless  brush  growth,  which 
effectually  prevents  the  reestabHshment  of  valu- 
able forest  growth  without  human  aid,  and  hence 
they  are  for  the  present  withdrawn  from  useful 
production. 

Trustworthy  statistics  of  the  actually  produc- 
tive forest  area  are  not  in  existence,  although 
figures  have  been  presented  as  such  by  statis- 
ticians without  capacity  to  interpret  their  mean- 


336  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

ing.  We  can  only  attempt  rough  approximations, 
applying  to  the  data  at  hand  personal  knowledge 
and  impressions  gathered  in  the  field  with  pro- 
fessional insight.  We  can  readily  admit  that 
these  figures  are  often  far  from  correct,  yet  not 
so  far  but  that  they  give  a  true  conception  of  the 
general  condition  of  things. 

Applying  proper  economic  considerations,  we 
may  at  once  halve  the  figures  given  for  both  the 
Rocky  Mountain  and  the  Pacific  forest,  and  re- 
duce that  of  the  Atlantic  forest,  after  deducting 
the  actually  enumerated  farm  area  by  only  lo 
per  cent,  a  small  allowance  to  make  for  actual 
waste  lands. ^  We  thus  arrive  at  an  area  of  round 
500  million  acres  as  representing  the  real  forest 
resources    of    the    country,    a    near    enough    ap- 

1  Some  basis  for  such  reductions  may  be  found  in  information  of 
the  following  kind:  — 

The  nearest  approach  to  a  statistical  statement  for  one  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  states,  Washington,  is  made  in  the  Twentieth  Report 
of  the  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1900,  Part  V,  from  which  it  appears,  that 
while  the  area  reported  as  forest  by  the  chief  geographer  is  47,700 
square  miles,  only  half  that  acreage  is  found  to  contain  merchant- 
able timber,  of  which  two-thirds  is  located  in  the  western  one-third 
of  the  state.  Here,  of  15,858  square  miles,  formerly  covered  with 
merchantable  timber,  20  per  cent  are  reported  cut  and  nearly  23 
per  cent  destroyed  by  fire. 

For  the  state  of  Oregon  the  same  report  upon  rather  insufficient 
data  reduces  the  reported  woodland  area  of  54,300  square  miles  to 
45,441  of  timbered,  i.e.  economically  valuable  area. 

A  similar  survey  of  one  of  the  Atlantic  forest  states,  Wisconsin, 
described  in  Bulletin  15,  Forestry  Division,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agricul- 
ture, 1S98,  reduces  the  woodland,  reported  by  the  census  of  1880, 


FOREST    CONDITIONS.  337 

proximation  for  all  practical  purposes  of  the 
economist. 

The  larger  portion  of  this  area  of  500  million 
acres  is,  however,  not  to  be  conceived  as  filled  with 
standing  timber  ready  for  the  axe,  but  consists  of 
"culled"  forest,  which  means  that  the  merchant- 
able timber  of  the  better  kinds  has  been  removed 
more  or  less  closely. 

How  nearly  this  assertion  must  be  true  we  may 
learn  from  the  simple  contemplation  of  the  fact, 
that  the  constantly  increasing  population  of  the 
United  States  has  drawn  its  wood  suppHes  from 
this  area  originally  of  less  than  700  million  acres, 
without  systematic  attention  to  reproduction.  If 
we  assume  that  the  consumption  per  capita  has 
not  been  quite  as  large  as  it  is  now  (350  cubic  feet), 
although  there  is  not  much  reason  for  such  assump- 
tion, and  add  up  the  population  annually  calling 
for  such  supplies  since  the  year  1780  only,  we  find 
that  not  less  than  2,500  million  people  have  had 
their  annual  requirements  satisfied  ;  that  means  a 
total  of  not  less  than  600  to  700  billion  cubic  feet. 

from  31,750  square  miles  to  about  26,904,  of  which  nearly  50  per 
cent  is  "  cut  over,  largely  burned  over  and  waste  brush  lands,  and 
one-half  of  this  as  nearly  desert  as  it  can  become  in  the  climate  of 
Wisconsin." 

From  such  statements  it  will  appear  that  the  method  of  arriving 
at  the  forest  acreage,  used  by  Mr.  Gannett,  chief  geographer,  in  the 
Nineteenth  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  namely  to  deduct  the 
farm  area  of  twenty  years  ago  from  the  total  land  area,  leads  to  no 
useful  result  for  purposes  of  the  economist. 
z 


338  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  wasteful  use  of  tim- 
ber, —  the  log-rolling  fires  in  clearing  for  farm  use, 
owing  to  the  lack  of  market,  —  we  may  assume  that 
less  than  half  of  this  consumption  was  secured 
from  these  farm  areas,  the  other  part  necessitating 
the  culling  of  certainly  300  million  acres,  so  that 
hardly  200  million  acres  containing  merchantable 
timber  may  remain,  even  if  we  make  allowance 
for  aftergrowth.  Comparing  this  probability  cal- 
culation with  the  amount  of  standing  timber,  given 
on  page  52,  as  an  extravagant  estimate,  this  area 
would  have  to  contain  an  average  of  10,000  feet 
B.M.,  or  2000  cubic  feet  of  such  wood  as  we 
use,  which  is  not  likely  to  be  the  case,  or  at  least 
questionable. 

This  area,  moreover,  is  continually  reduced  by 
fire  and  by  clearing  for  farm  purposes,  as  the 
change  of  improved  farm  areas  in  the  forested 
states  from  census  year  to  census  year  shows, 
namely,  an  increase  of  about  25  million  acres  each 
decade  in  round  figures.  Some  abandoned  farms 
in  New  England,  and  in  the  South,  to  be  sure, 
are  gradually  returning  to  forest  growth,  but  these 
additions  are  small  in  proportion  to  the  farm  in- 
crease. Nevertheless,  taking  the  forested  area 
actually  grown  or  growing  to  timber,  in  good,  bad, 
or  indifferent  condition,  it  represents  in  the  forest 
country  of  the  Atlantic  side  still  40  to  45  per 
cent  of  the  total  land  area,  while  about  20  to  25 
per  cent  may  be  set  down  as  waste  lands. 


FOREST    CONDITIONS.  339 

The  productive  forest  area  of  the  western  coun- 
try may  be  stated  as  not  exceeding  14  per  cent. 
For  the  whole  country  the  woodland  area  according 
to  the  United  States  Chief  Geographer,  whose  dis- 
cussions on  these  questions  contain  many  misstate- 
ments and  misconceptions,  represents  -^^y  per  cent; 
according  to  the  writer's  conception  of  what  may  be 
considered  forest  area,  it  is  not  much  over  26  per 
cent.  This  acreage  of  round  500  million  acres 
under  proper  management  would  barely  be  capable 
of  supplying  continuously  the  present  annual  wood 
consumption  of  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
which,  as  we  have  seen  on  page  51,  amounts  to 
about  25,000  million  cubic  feet;  while  we  esti- 
mated that  the  virgin  supplies  still  standing  may 
be  able  to  satisfy  the  present  consumption  for 
perhaps  40  to  50  years. 

The  immediate  inauguration  of  conservative 
treatment,  of  recuperative  measures,  and  of  proper 
economies  in  the  use  of  wood  may,  therefore,  be 
able  to  avert  serious  discomforts  to  be  expected 
from  a  shortage  in  wood  supplies,  provided  there 
be  no  increase  in  consumption,  or  perhaps  even 
a  proportionate  reduction,  as  the  population  in- 
creases, which  as  we  have  seen  in  Chapter  II.  is 
possible.  So  far  the  census  statistics  record  an 
increase  of  wood  consumption,  in  values  at  least, 
of  a  round  30  per  cent  for  every  decade,  and  hence 
the  economies,  as  well  as  the  conservative  and 
recuperative  treatment,  should  be  begun  now. 


340  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY. 

The  ownership  of  the  forest  area  will  largely 
determine  how  far  such  conservative  treatment 
may  be  expected. 

Governments,  which  are  logically  conservative 
managers  of  their  properties,  own  in  the  United 
States  as  yet  only  an  insignificant  acreage.  Thanks 
to  the  forest  reservation  policy,  inaugurated  in 
1 89 1,  the  federal  government  has  reserved  and 
continues  to  reserve  and  exclude  from  sale  or  other 
disposal  some  of  the  public  domain,  which  still 
comprises  over  500,000,000  acres. 

It  is  uncertain  how  much  of  this  acreage  is  for- 
est covered.  There  are  somewhat  over  10,000,000 
acres  still  held  in  the  Eastern  states,  largely  swamp 
lands  and  forest,  while  for  the  Western  states, 
Mr.  F.  H.  Newell,  a  few  years  ago,^  estimated  the 
public  lands  open  for  entry  as  follows  :  — 

Brush  lands 96,000,000. 

Timber  forest 70,000,000. 

Desert 69,000,000. 

Grazing  land 374,000,000. 

Since  under  the  existing  construction  of  the  land 
laws,  the  timber  lands  on  the  Pacific  coast  may  be 
entered  as  agricultural  lands,  and  since  the  lumber 
business  of  that  region  in  the  last  few  years  has  been 
greatly  extended,  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  by  such 
entries  the  timber  forest  area  of  the  public  domain 
has  been  considerably  reduced  from  that  estimate. 

The   forest   reservations    made   by   the   federal 

i  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  Ann.  Rep.  1894. 


FOREST   CONDITIONS. 


341 


government  to  July  i,  1902,  comprise  an  acreage  of 
nearly  60  million  acres,  hardly  more  than  i  per 
cent  of  the  public  domain,  but  it  is  well  known  that 
a  considerable  portion  of  these  reservations  is  not 
timber  land;  they  include  brush  lands,  grazing 
lands,  and  desert. 

In  fact  the  examinations  by  agents  of  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey  indicate  that  of  about  12 
million  acres  examined,  not  more  than  30  per  cent 
contains  merchantable  timber,  and  the  amount  of 
such  timber  is  estimated  at  not  to  exceed  24  billion 
feet  B.M.  In  other  words,  on  this  vast  area  can- 
not be  found  one  year's  requirement  for  the  whole 
United  States,  or  six  years'  supply  for  the  mills  now 
operating  in  the  "Western  states.  There  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  the  rest  of  the  federal  reserves  are 
much  better  timbered,  for  the  examined  portions 
seem  to  represent  fairly  well  average  conditions ; 
hence,  the  forest  reservation  poUcy  of  the  govern- 
ment, as  far  as  the  supply  question  for  the  country 
at  large  is  concerned,  has  not,  and  indeed  cannot, 
alleviate  matters  very  much.  Even  if  all  the  tim- 
ber lands  now  in  possession  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment were  withdrawn  from  entry,  —  and  it  is  a  short- 
sighted poHcy  not  to  have  done  so  long  ago,  —  such 
reservation  would  bear  on  local  conditions  of  supply 
only.  But,  indeed,  for  the  welfare  of  the  West- 
ern states,  the  inauguration  of  the  forest  reservation 
policy  is  of  the  utmost  importance ;  not  only  from 
the  timber  supply  point  of  view,  but  especially  with 


342  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

regard  to  the  question  of  water  supply.  The  val- 
leys of  the  West  being,  for  the  use  of  their  almost 
inexhaustible  fertility,  dependent  upon  irrigation 
waters,  the  water  conserving  capacity  of  a  well- 
kept  forest  cover  is  indispensable,  and  in  this  direc- 
tion even  the  brush  lands  are  of  value. 

It  would  be  only  rational  that  the  extensive  plans 
for  the  development  of  irrigation  systems  in  the 
West  should  include  the  rapid  withdrawal  from 
entry  of  all  the  mountain  forest  and  brush  lands, 
and  their  rational  treatment  with  the  main  object 
of  preserving  the  soil  cover. 

In  the  Eastern  states,  the  single  state  govern- 
ments alone  may  carry  out  a  similar  reservation 
policy,  and  indeed  the  beginnings  have  been  made 
here  and  there. 

The  state  of  New  York  owns  nearly  one  and 
one-quarter  million  acres  with  the  avowed  purpose 
of  increasing  the  acreage  of  state  forest ;  the  state 
of  Pennsylvania  has  entered  upon  the  policy  of 
acquiring  state  forest,  and  several  other  states  are 
at  least  discussing  the  propriety  of  such  ownership. 
But  the  majority  of  the  states  have  not  yet 
waked  up  to  their  obligation  in  this  respect,  and  com- 
munities, like  villages,  towns,  cities,  counties,  which 
so  often  in  Europe  derive  acceptable  income  from 
forest  properties,  have  not  yet  considered  such  a 
policy,  hence  the  forest  areas  are  nearly  entirely  in 
private  hands. 

As  to  the  character  of  this  private  ownership  and 


FOREST   CONDITIONS. 


343 


the  distribution  among  different  classes  of  owners, 
we  are  without  data.  The  census  of  1880  gave  a 
statement  of  the  ownership  by  farmers  of  200  mill- 
ion acres  in  wood  lots.  This  would  mostly  repre- 
sent a  conservative  ownership,  although  farmers 
do  not  always  treat  their  timber  lots  as  intelligently 
as  they  might ;  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  much  of 
this  acreage  has  since  passed  into  the  hands  of 
lumbermen  and  wood-working  establishments.^ 

Among  these  we  must  discern  between  the 
jobbers,  who  merely  buy  stumpage,  i.e.  the  timber 
without  the  land,  who,  therefore,  take  no  interest 
in  the  future  of  either,  and  hence  are  least  con- 
servative in  their  treatment  of  the  forest,  and  the 
land-owning  class,  who  are  apt  to  take  more 
thought  of  what  may  become  of  their  holdings.  It 
is,  however,  only  very  lately  that  this  interest  ex- 
tends in  the  direction  of  conservative  lumbering 
and  of  keeping  the  forest  as  such  productive ;  in 
most  cases  the  policy  of  "skinning"  is  still  the 
usual  one,  that  means  culling  out  the  merchantable 
material,  with  a  very  variable  result  as  regards  the 
condition  in  which  the  forest  is  left.  Sometimes, 
as  when  the  spruce  or  pine  is  cut  out  from  the 
mixed  hardwood  forest,  its  absence  may  be  hardly 
noticed  by  the  layman,  the  forest  cover  is  little 
interrupted,  and   the    scattered    debris    sooner   or 

^  The  value  of  wood  products,  cut  on  farmers'  wood  lots,  was 
found  by  the  census  of  1900  to  amount  to  less  than  120  million 
dollars. 


344  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

later  decomposes,  but  the  composition  is  surely 
altered  in  the  old  timber  as  well  as  in  the  young 
aftergrowth.  Where  the  soft  woods,  which  are 
the  most  valuable  and  the  most  easily  removed  by 
water  transportation,  had  occupied  a  larger  portion 
of  the  mixed  forest,  or  were  found  in  pure  stands, 
or  where  hardwoods  are  lumbered,  the  case  is  less 
hopeful  for  the  future,  the  accumulation  of  debris 
prevents  largely  a  reproduction  of  valuable  species, 
and  the  succession  is  of  inferior  kinds  and  shrubs, 
especially  as  the  valuable  seed  trees  have  been  either 
entirely  removed  or  greatly  reduced.  Sooner  or 
later  fires  run  through  the  slashing,  and  if  repeated 
may  destroy  not  only  all  the  struggling  after- 
growth, but  the  humus,  the  soil  itself,  and  so 
render  the  land  practically  useless  for  genera- 
tions. 

Sometimes  a  fire  at  the  right  time  may,  however, 
have  done  good  by  reducing  the  slash,  and,  if  seed 
trees  were  left  uncut  in  the  neighborhood,  a  de- 
sirable aftergrowth  may  have  established  itself, 
which  but  for  a  repetition  of  the  fire  would  grow 
into  desirable  timber. 

In  late  years  the  severity  of  the  culling  pro- 
cess has  greatly  increased,  since  with  improved 
means  of  transportation  and  reduced  supplies 
smaller  sizes  have  become  marketable ;  as  a 
result  the  chances  of  a  valuable  aftergrowth  are 
greatly  diminished,  and  most  of  the  logged  areas 
of  to-day,  differing  from  those  of  twenty  or  thirty 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  345 

years  ago,  are  doomed  to  non-productive  condition 
for  generations. 

The  owners  of  expensive  permanent  mill  estab- 
lishments, relying  on  timber  supply,  are  naturally 
more  interested  in  a  continuity  of  local  supplies 
than  those  who  can  readily  change  their  location 
when  the  supplies  in  one  locality  are  exhausted. 

Hence  such  manufactures  as  the  paper-pulp  in- 
dustry will  become  or  are  already  interested  in 
more  conservative  use  of  their  holdings. 

Lately,  as  in  all  commercial  enterprises,  a  ten- 
dency has  developed  in  the  lumber  industry  to  con- 
solidate forest  properties  and  form  trusts,  which 
own  many  thousands  or  even  millions  of  acres  of 
forest  land. 

Such  trusts  may  be  and  probably  are  mostly 
formed  for  the  immediate  financial  advantages  ac- 
cruing from  combination,  but  they  could,  and,  if 
they  consulted  their  true  interests,  would,  practise 
a  more  conservative  treatment  of  their  timber  and 
introduce  forestry  methods,  which  would  prove  in 
the  end  the  wisest  continual  financial  poUcy. 

Trusts,  therefore,  properly  organized  for  con- 
tinuous business,  may  prove  next  to  governments 
the  most  hopeful  agencies  for  practising  forestry, 
since  they  can  control  large  areas  under  uniform 
and  continuous  policy. 

Another  class  of  conservative  owners  of  forest 
property  is  coming  to  the  fore,  namely,  wealthy 
capitalists,  who  can  see  the  financial  advantages  of 


346  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

the  future  in  forest  properties,  and  are  able  to 
hold  such  properties  until  developments  surround- 
ing them  will  make  their  conservative  use  under 
forestry  methods  possible. 

Others,  including  sporting  associations,  are  own- 
ing forest  properties  for  other  than  economic  pur- 
poses. These,  too,  are  naturally  conservative,  and 
when  forestry  practice  is  established  in  this  country, 
will  probably  learn  that  their  pleasure  need  not 
suffer  by  applying  such  practice  to  their  properties 
and  deriving  financial  benefits  from  them  as  well. 

As  we  have  seen  in  previous  chapters,  forestry 
is  profitable  only  in  the  long  run  and  on  large 
areas ;  it  is  a  business  which  contemplates  continu- 
ity for  a  long  period,  hence  the  more  our  forest 
resources  pass  into  the  hands  of  perpetual  cor- 
porations and  wealthy  owners,  the  more  hopeful 
is  their  fate. 

For  a  thorough  understanding  and  discussion  of 
the  economic  aspects  of  our  forest  areas,  we  ought 
to  know,  not  only  the  extent  of  forest  cover,  and 
the  character  and  condition  of  the  forest  growth, 
but  its  distribution  over  the  different  soils  and 
topographic  conditions,  when  it  may  be  determined 
what  areas  are  naturally  to  be  kept  in  forest,  and 
what  areas  must  by  necessity  be  turned  into  farm 
lands ;  where  the  protective  feature  requires  greater 
care  in  their  management,  or  where  they  may  be 
left  to  their  fate. 

It  will  have   appeared  that  in  speaking  of  the 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  347 

forest  areas  from  the  supply  point  of  view,  we 
keep  in  mind  that  not  only  the  old  crop,  the  virgin 
timber  ready  for  the  axe,  but  also  the  young  crop, 
the  aftergrowth  of  valuable  kinds,  should  be  consid- 
ered as  timber-producing  area,  and  even  the  bare 
soil  itself,  if  it  is  only  left  in  condition  to  recuper- 
ate, and  to  reproduce  naturally  valuable  species  in 
a  reasonable  time. 

As  far  as  mere  soil  cover  is  concerned,  the  value- 
less species  and  even  the  brush  lands  may  suffice 
to  furnish  protection  and  perform  the  functions,  at 
least  in  part,  of  the  timber  forest ;  yet  even  here, 
in  order  to  make  the  best  use  of  the  soil  in  the 
household  of  a  nation,  it  becomes  necessary  to 
eradicate  the  weeds  and  favor  the  useful  species. 

As  we  have  intimated  before,  there  are  weeds 
among  trees  as  well  as  among  the  lower  vegetation. 
Indeed,  of  the  500  species  of  arborescent  growth 
of  which  we  can  boast  in  our  woods,  there  are 
hardly  more  than  70  which  deserve  the  forester's 
attention,  although  we  may  expand  the  number  of 
useful  ones  to  100  or  more,  since  in  the  absence  of 
some  better  material,  even  the  poor  Lodge-pole 
Pine  of  the  West,  covering  thousands  of  square 
miles,  the  Black  Jack  of  the  barrens,  and  the  Scrub 
Pines  of  the  sandy  coast  become  valuable,  at  least 
for  firewood. 

In  the  markets,  where  the  finer  botanical  distinc- 
tions into  species  are  neglected,  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  find  as  many  as  fifty  native  woods  quoted. 


348  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

Some  of  these,  which  we  now  use  simply  because 
they  can  be  had,  since  nature  grew  them  without 
counting  the  cost  or  considering  that  a  better  ma- 
terial might  have  been  grown  with  as  much  ease, 
will  be  discarded  by  the  forester.  They  will  not 
be  grown  again  consciously  by  man's  aid.  Never- 
theless, with  all  these  eliminations,  there  remains  a 
large  number  of  highly  valuable  species  for  which 
the  chances  of  perpetuation  are  to  be  prepared  by 
the  forester. 

The  most  important  furnishers  of  timber  are  the 
conifers :  pines,  spruces,  firs,  hemlocks,  cedars, 
larch,  and  cypress,  usually  in  commerce  called  soft 
woods  in  contradistinction  to  the  broad-leaved 
trees,  designated  as  hardwoods,^  although  both 
groups  contain  both  hard  and  soft  woods. 

Our  flora  excels  especially  in  a  great  variety  of 
pines,  those  most  useful  trees  of  the  temperate 
zone,  of  which  we  can  boast  at  least  ten  timber- 
producing  species,  three  softwooded  white  pines 
and  seven  hardwooded  yellow  pines,  besides  not 
less  than  twenty-five  scrub-pines,  useful  to  occupy 
the  least  favorable  dry  soils. 

Of  other  conifers  the  Red  and  Black  Spruce  of 
the  Northeast,  the  Bald  Cypress  of  the  South,  and 
the  Douglas  or  Red  Fir,  Redwood,  and  Sugar  Pine 
of  the  West  are  the  most  prominent  staples,  the 
others  being  of  minor  importance. 

Among  the  hardwoods  the  oaks  are  perhaps  the 

^This  distinction  has  received  sanction  in  the  courts. 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  349 

most  useful,  and  here  again  we  can  boast  of  a  great 
variety,  classified  botanically  and  according  to  their 
wood  in  two  groups,  the  white  oaks  and  black  oaks, 
of  which  not  less  than  a  dozen  are  large-sized  tim- 
ber trees,  and  some  twenty  or  thirty  perform  simi- 
lar service  as  the  pines  in  covering  barrens.  Next 
in  importance  may  be  placed  the  ashes,  two  impor- 
tant species,  the  hickories  with  five  interchangeable 
timber  species,  the  maples  with  four  marketable 
species,  and  the  Tulip  Tree  or  Whitewood,  the  giant 
tree  of  the  East,  besides  Chestnut,  Red  Gum,  Bass- 
wood,  elms,  birches,  and  the  rarer  Walnut  and  Cherry 
for  ornamental  woodwork,  with  a  number  of  others. 
The  relative  importance  of  these  woods,  and 
hence  of  the  forest  regions  in  which  they  are 
found,  may  be  learned  from  the  estimated  distribu- 
tion of  the  annual  cut  as  it  appeared  in  the  census 
year  1890.^  This  total  annual  cut,  including  all 
material  requiring  bolt  or  log  size,  estimated  at  round 
40,000  million  feet  B.M.,^  was  approximately  made 
up  of  the  following  kinds  and  quantities :  — 

Billion  feet 
B.M. 

White  Pine 12 

Spruce  and  Fir 5 

1  These  figures  are  not  census  statistics,  which  are  always  short 
of  the  truth,  but  estimates  based  upon  census  data  and  other 
information,  rounded  off  to  include  unenumerated  amounts ;  they 
approximate  relative  conditions  averaged  for  a  series  of  years.  The 
present  actual  cut  must  be  somewhat  larger  than  this  approxima- 
tion, since  the  Census  of  1900  places  the  sawed  product  alone  at 
35,000  miUion  feet  B.M. 


350  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

Billion  feet 
B.M. 

Hemlock 4 

Longleaf  Pine 4 

Shortleaf  and  Loblolly  Pine      ...  3 

Cypress 0.5 

Redwood 0.5 

All  other  conifers i 

or  altogether  30,000  million  feet  of  coniferous  ma- 
terial, leaving  for  all  the  hardwoods  10,000  million 
feet,  of  which  the  oaks  furnished  3000  million  feet. 

The  largest  part  of  the  cut  was  furnished  by  the 
Southern  states  and  the  Lake  Region,  each  with 
13,000  million  feet,  New  England  and  the  North 
Atlantic  states  furnishing  6000  million,  the  hard- 
wood region  of  the  Central  states  5000  million,  the 
Pacific  states  4000  million,  the  rest,  of  2000  million 
feet,  coming  from  scattered  localities. 

Since  that  time  the  general  relation  of  the  dif- 
ferent regions  has  remained  the  same,  but  the  rela- 
tive amounts  have  changed,  the  White  Pine  cut  of 
the  Lake  Region  has  been  considerably  reduced 
owing  to  waning  supplies,  the  Southern  and  Pacific 
coast  cut  has  been  increased.  (For  further  statis- 
tics, see  Appendix.) 

Our  principal  and  most  important  supplies,  then, 
are  found  in  the  White  Pine  of  the  lake  states  and  the 
yellow  pines  of  the  Gulf  and  South  Atlantic  states. 

The  Atlantic  forest,  as  we  have  stated,  is  essen- 
tially a  forest  of  deciduous-leaved  trees,  in  which 
the  conifers  occur  mixed  or  in  small  bodies.     Only 


FOREST    CONDITIONS.  35 1 

where  the  soil  becomes  sandy,  the  drainage  being 
rapid,  are  to  be  found  extensive  pineries  composed 
of  these  frugal  species  to  the  exclusion  of  the  more 
fastidious  hardwoods.  In  the  rich  loamy  soils  of 
the  central  agricultural  states  —  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Missouri  —  the  coni- 
fers are  of  less  importance  or  mostly  entirely  absent, 
the  hardwoods  in  greatest  variety  and  most  excel- 
lent development  occupying  the  ground  exclusively. 
The  North  Atlantic  forest,  north  and  east  of  this 
purely  hardwood  region,  originally  contained  every- 
where the  valuable  White  Pine  among  the  oaks  and 
maples.  Beech,  and  Basswood,  to  which  farther 
north  the  Yellow  Birch,  replacing  the  oaks,  is  asso- 
ciated. But  now  the  merchantable  pine  areas  of 
importance  are  confined  to  the  northern  part  of 
Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  with  a  remnant  in  Mich- 
igan, although  some  scattered  pine,  especially  young 
growth,  is  found  in  all  the  other  Northeastern  states, 
and  small  bodies  of  old  timber  on  the  Alleghanies 
even  as  far  south  as  North  Carolina.  Similarly, 
hemlock  is  distributed  over  the  whole  area,  but  the 
large  bodies  are  mainly  confined  to  western  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania,  soon  to  be  exhausted,  while 
the  spruce,  so  much  prized  for  paper-pulp,  is  found 
in  quantities  mainly  in  the  northern  New  England 
states  and  the  Adirondacks  of  northern  New  York. 
The  northern  parts  of  this  white  pine  region 
furnish  also  a  valuable  yellow  pine,  the  so-called 
Red  or  Norway  Pine,  which  is  often  included  in  the 


352  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

estimates  of  White  Pine,  although  its  quality  is  quite 
different. 

So  important  a  part  does  the  White  Pine  play  in 
our  timber  supply  that  speculation  as  to  the  amount 
available  has  occupied  the  mind  of  the  lumber 
world  for  many  years.  The  census  of  1880  at- 
tempted to  secure  an  estimate  of  timber  standing 
at  that  time ;  the  estimates  then  pubHshed  indicat- 
ing twenty  years'  supply  at  once  showed  their 
influence  upon  price  for  stumpage  and  upon  stand- 
ards of  merchantable  material. 

By  reduction  of  this  standard,  by  increase  of 
means  of  transportation,  by  more  careful  cutting, 
sawing,  grading,  and  handling,  and  partly  by  new 
growth,  the  supplies  have  been  considerably  length- 
ened, so  that  in  1897  the  writer,  compiling  later 
estimates,^  could  still  find  in  the  three  main  white- 
pine-producing  states  nearly  40,000  million  feet, 
which  with  a  greatly  reduced  cut  will  last  a  few 
years  longer,  when  the  king  of  the  woods  will 
have  been  reduced  to  an  inferior  rank. 

In  the  same  document  the  supplies  of  all  conif- 
erous interchangeable  material,  standing  ready 
for  the  axe  in  the  Northern  states,  was  estimated 
at  a  round  100,000  million  feet,  while  the  annual 
cut  at  that  time  was  placed  at  round  18,000  million 
feet.  Since  then  the  conception  of  what  is  mer- 
chantable timber  has  greatly  changed,  small-sized 

1  See  Senate  Document,  No.  40,  55th  Congress,  1st  session,  1897, 
"  White  Pine  Timber  Supplies." 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  353 

logs  and  small-sized  trees  have  become  salable,  the 
cut,  at  least  of  White  Pine,  has  been  considerably 
diminished,  and  hence  suppHes  will  last  still  for 
years  to  come.  In  addition,  on  the  areas  which  in 
earlier  years  had  been  culled  less  severely,  the  trees 
that  were  left  have  put  on  growth  sufficient  to 
become  marketable  (second  growth !);  and  occasion- 
ally also  natural  volunteer  reproduction  has  come, 
furnishing  new  supplies. 

Nevertheless,  even  if  the  estimates  were  doubled 
and  quadrupled,  the  time  of  practical  exhaustion 
of  this  resource  will  be  upon  us  before  recuperative 
measures  have  been  fairly  started. 

The  Southern  forest,  although  showing  greater 
variety  and  number  of  species,  does  not  add  many 
hardwood  species  of  economic  value,  which  are  not 
represented  in  the  Northern  forest.  But  in  conif- 
erous species  it  furnishes  invaluable  supplies  by 
a  group  of  hardwooded  yellow  pines,  the  Bald  Cy- 
press, and  to  a  lesser  extent  the  Pencil  Cedar  or 
Juniper. 

The  sandy  soils  in  which  the  Southern  states 
along  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coast  abound  are  occu- 
pied by  vast  pineries,  in  which  for  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  square  miles  the  hardwood  species  are 
almost  absent  except  in  the  loamy  hummocks  and 
river-bottoms.  The  most  important  and  valuable  of 
these  pines  is  the  Longleaf  or  Georgia  Pine,  which 
predominates  over  the  largest  area  in  a  belt  paral- 
leling  the  coast  from  North   Carolina  to  eastern 


354  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

Texas,  varying  in  width  from  60  to  1 50  miles.  In 
its  southern  range  it  is  joined  by  the  Cuban  Pine, 
of  equal  or  even  greater  value,  although  in  the 
market  not  differentiated,  and  by  the  Loblolly  Pine  ; 
in  its  northern  range  it  extends  into  the  mixed 
forest  which  covers  a  belt  of  20  to  60  miles  more, 
in  which  the  Longleaf  Pine  is  associated  with  Short- 
leaf  Pine,  in  the  market  called  North  Carolina  Pine, 
with  Loblolly  or  Oldfield  Pine  (called  Virginia 
Pine),  and  with  hardwoods. 

North  of  this  belt  of  mixed  forest  the  pine  area  is 
increased  by  the  Shortleaf  Pine,  occasionally  asso- 
ciated with  the  Loblolly,  occupying  the  sandy  soils. 
Although  the  Longleaf  and  Cuban  pines  are  supe- 
rior in  quality,  the  other  two  have  not  much  less 
value  and  application  in  the  arts,  being  often  sub- 
stituted ;  and  hence  we  can  consider  the  whole  pine 
belt  as  a  unity,  an  area  of  about  150,000,000  acres, 
within  which  these  pines  do  or  did  occur  in  mer- 
chantable quantities.  Deducting  the  farm  area  and 
making  allowance  for  hardwood  areas  interspersed 
between  the  pineries,  the  pine-producing  area  is 
probably  not  quite  two-thirds  of  the  area  of  distri- 
bution, or  round  90,000,000  acres.  The  available 
supplies  of  standing  timber  were  estimated  by  the 
writer  seven  years  ago  at  between  200,000  and 
300,000  million  feet.  At  that  time  the  annual  cut 
exceeded  7,000  million  feet,  and  as  it  has  con- 
stantly and  rapidly  increased,  the  waning  white- 
pine  supplies  stimulating  the  Southern  lumber  in- 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  355 

dustry,  it  is  probably  safe  to  reduce  this  stand  by  at 
least  70,000  million,  so  that  at  best,  less  than  the 
lower  estimate  is  remaining  to  satisfy  a  demand 
of  now  over  10,000  million  feet  annually. 

We  must  again  and  again  accentuate  that  these 
figurings  are  neither  mathematics  nor  statistics  in 
the  sense  of  the  enumerator,  but  are  calculations 
of  possibilities  or  probabilities  sufficiently  close  to 
give  an  insight  into  the  general  situation.  By 
changing  standards,  by  cutting  more  closely,  by 
avoiding  waste  in  logging  and  sawing,  by  avoiding 
extravagance  in  the  use  of  the  materials,  we  may 
lengthen  the  time  during  which  these  stores  may 
last,  but  unless  they  are  replaced  by  reproduction, 
they  must  give  out  within  much  less  time  than  it 
takes  to  grow  a  log  tree,  for  the  timber  which  we 
now  cut  is  mostly  150  to  300  years  and  more  old, 
and  none  of  these  pines  make  suitable  sawlogs  in 
less  than  60  to  120  years. 

What  under  prevailing  practices  the  chance  for 
spontaneous  natural  reproduction  and  the  condition 
of  the  cut-over  areas  are,  may  be  learned  from  read- 
ing the  excellent  monograph  on  "  The  Southern 
Pines,"  by  Dr.  Charles  Mohr.^  The  practice  of 
annual  firing  of  the  woods,  to  improve  the  grazing, 
has  in  most  places  effectually  prevented  renewal 
of  the  pines. 

One  of  the  forest  industries  using  a  by-product, 

i"The  Timber  Pines  of  the  Southern  United  States,"  Bulletin 
No.  13,  Division  of  Forestry,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  1896. 


356       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

which  is  derived  from  bleeding  the  Longleaf  Pine, 
the  naval  store  industry,  producing  now  values  to 
the  amount  of  ^20,000,000  per  annum,  has  also 
done  much  to  reduce  supplies  and  reproduction. 
While  it  might  have  been  carried  on,  as  it  is  in 
France,  without  injury  to  timber  or  young  growth, 
the  crude  methods  employed  have  destroyed  much 
timber  before  the  saw  miller  was  ready  to  use  it,  and 
much  more  has  fallen  a  prey  to  the  destructive  fires 
which  have  followed  the  turpentine  gatherer. 

Besides  the  pines  there  is  found  in  the  swamps 
of  the  Southern  states  another  valuable  conifer, 
the  Bald  Cypress.  The  area  occupied  by  this 
species  is  naturally  small,  and  with  an  annual  cut 
which  may  now  be  much  more  than  5,000,000  feet, 
it  can  be  soon  exhausted,  and  the  reproduction, 
which  is  naturally  less  ready  on  lands  under  water 
for  several  months  in  the  year,  may  be  counted  as 
nil. 

Of  hardwoods  we  have  large  areas  throughout 
the  entire  Atlantic  forest,  and  as  our  consump- 
tion is  relatively  small,  and  the  hardwoods  repro- 
duce readily,  their  future  is  easily  provided  for. 
In  the  more  settled  parts  of  the  New  England  and 
North  Atlantic  states  and  on  the  northern  Appa- 
lachians of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  the  timber 
forest  of  hardwoods  has  mostly  been  supplanted 
by  the  coppice,  producing  only  firewood  and  small 
dimensions,  but  it  will  be  an  easy  task  to  change  it 
back  into  timber  forest. 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  357 

It  is  in  the  coniferous  materials  that  we  are 
most  concerned,  for  they  form  three-fourths  of  our 
consumption,  and  their  reproduction  in  competition 
with  the  hardwoods  and  the  fires  is  not  promising. 

Some  ignorant  people  —  ignorant  both  as  to  re- 
quirements of  the  wood  industries  and  as  to  the 
condition  and  character  of  our  forest  resources  — 
have  claimed  that  the  natural  growth  of  young 
trees,  without  any  attention,  following  the  opera- 
tions of  lumbermen,  would  suffice  to  replace  that 
which  is  removed  and  would  continue  to  furnish 
the  required  material. 

The  observant  student,  not  to  speak  of  the  pro- 
fessional forester,  can  readily  see  that  culling  the 
valuable  kinds  and  leaving  the  inferior  tree  weeds 
in  possession  of  the  soil  almost  entirely  prevents  in 
many  cases  reproduction  of  the  valuable  species. 
In  other  cases  where  the  production  of  valuable 
kinds  does  take  place,  as,  for  instance,  with  the 
Southern  pines,  whenever  the  young  growth  is 
not  killed  by  fires,  the  development  is  so  unsatis- 
factory, that  where  with  proper  attention  a  new 
crop  might  be  available  in  seventy  to  a  hundred 
years,  twice  the  time  will  be  required  to  make 
clear  timber  of  quality.  In  most  cases  recurring 
fires  retard  this  natural  re-growth  still  further  or 
prevent  it  altogether. 

Of  the  character  and  conditions  of  the  Western 
forests  we  have  almost  more  detailed  information 
than  of  the  Atlantic  forest,  thanks  to  the  various 


358  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY. 

government  surveys  and  railroad-land  cruisings,  and 
the  examinations  of  the  federal  forest  reservations 
by  agents  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey. 
These  forests  are  all  coniferous,  the  broad-leaved 
trees  playing  an  insignificant  part,  although  the 
Pacific  Coast  forests  contain  some  valuable  oak, 
ash,  and  maple.  The  Western  forests  are  mainly 
confined  to  the  mountain  slopes,  varying  in  char- 
acter with  latitude  and  altitude,  i.e.  with  the  varia- 
tion in  moisture  and  temperature  conditions.  We 
have  seen  that  probably  50  per  cent  of  the  wood- 
land area  may  be  ruled  out  from  consideration 
as  timber  producing,  so  that  roughly  only  round 
100,000,000  acres  remain  for  that  purpose,  one- 
half  on  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  other  half  on 
the  Pacific  coast.  If  this  were  all  untouched,  we 
might  have  found  for  the  Rocky  Mountain  forest 
a  stand  of  not  exceeding  200,000  million  and  for 
the  Pacific  coast  forest  1,000,000  million  feet, 
but  from  these  stores  during  our  occupation  of 
these  territories  at  least  200,000,000  people  have 
drawn  their  annual  requirement  of  probably  not 
less  than  500  feet,  and  that  in  a  wasteful  manner ; 
a  large  amount  of  material  has  been  exported  to 
neighboring  states  and  across  the  sea,  and  a  still 
larger  amount  has  been  destroyed  by  fire,  so  that, 
gathering  indications  from  the  reports  of  the  Geo- 
logical Survey,  the  amount  of  standing  timber,  ac- 
cording to  present  standards  and  under  present 
methods  of  utilization,  will  probably  be  less  than 


FOREST   CONDITIONS. 


359 


700,000  million  feet.  It  must  be  understood,  that 
especially  on  the  Pacific  coast,  where  lumbering  is 
carried  on  not  merely  to  supply  local  wants  but  for 
export,  the  most  wasteful  use  of  the  timber  is 
forced  upon  the  lumberman  by  the  destructive 
competition,  the  distance  from  market,  with  high 
freight  rates,  reducing  the  material  actually  market- 
able by  50  to  80  per  cent  and  more  below  Eastern 
standards,  the  merchantable  diameter  limit  in  the 
Puget  Sound  regions  being  at  present  twenty-two 
inches.  Even  in  the  Black  Hills,  in  lumbering  the 
pine  of  the  forest  reserve,  mostly  for  local  use,  it 
has  been  estimated  that  50  per  cent  of  each  tree  cut 
for  lumber  is  left  in  the  woods,  fully  one  and  one- 
half  cord  for  every  thousand  feet  utilized. 

Throughout  the  Rocky  Mountain  forest  the  hard- 
wooded  Yellow  or  Bull  Pine  is  the  most  important 
tree,  often  occurring  in  pure  stands  as  on  the  plateau 
forest  of  Arizona.  To  this  are  joined  the  Douglas 
or  Red  Fir,  becoming  more  prevalent  and  better 
developed  toward  the  north,  the  Engelman  Spruce 
and  several  other  inferior  spruces  and  firs,  and 
occasionally  a  hemlock. 

Toward  the  north,  in  Idaho,  where  the  timber 
improves  in  development  and  the  forest  in  density, 
a  white  pine,  the  Silver  Pine,  and  a  larch  of  pro- 
digious dimensions,  form  most  valuable  stands, 
together  with  the  Giant  Cedar.  Thousands  of 
square  miles  are  covered  with  the  Lodge-pole  Pine 
in  pure  stands  almost  entirely  useless  for  timber, 


36o  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

although  furnishing  fire  wood  and  small  dimension 
material.  Thousands  of  square  miles  of  the  high 
elevations  are  occupied  by  the  Subalpine  Fir  and 
scrubby  pines  of  no  commercial  value  ;  in  addition 
fire  has  not  only  damaged  but  destroyed  thousands 
of  square  miles. 

The  following  figures  abstracted  from  the  United 
States  Geological  Report  cited  are  illustrative.  In 
the  Priest  Forest  Reserve,  which  comprises  about 
1000  square  miles,  of  which  850  were  found  timber- 
producing,  at  least  70  per  cent  of  the  timber  once 
standing  is  estimated  as  destroyed  by  fires  dur- 
ing the  last  thirty  years,  a  loss  in  value  of  over 
$100,000,000.  "Excepting  a  small  area  of  about 
1600  acres  along  the  Lower  West  Fork,  there  is 
no  body  of  timber  of  1000  acres  or  even  500  acres 
extent  not  scorched  by  fire.  In  the  lower  zones 
there  are  over  200,000  acres  on  which  the  destruc- 
tion is  practically  complete.  In  the  subalpine 
zone  at  least  40,000  of  the  60,000  acres  have  been 
more  or  less  injured  by  fire." 

In  the  Bitterroot  Reserve,  which  contains  over 
4,000,000  acres,  of  1,000,000  acres  examined  only 
60  per  cent  was  found  wooded,  half  with  the  com- 
paratively valueless  Lodge-pole  Pine,  20  per  cent 
with  inferior  Red  Fir,  and  only  30  per  cent  with  the 
valuable  Yellow  Pine,  over  20  per  cent  of  the  origi- 
nal stand  having  been  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  last 
forty  years. 

On  the  east  slopes  of  the  Cascades  and  Sierras 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  361 

and  throughout  the  Interior  Basin  arid  conditions 
prevail,  and  hence  wherever  forest  areas  occur, 
the  trees  stand  open  and  are  stunted,  and  gener- 
ally of  no  commercial  value.  Yet  the  open  pine 
forest  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  of  the  slopes  and 
plateau  of  eastern  Oregon,  made  up  of  Bull  Pine, 
furnishes  at  least  a  welcome  local  timber  supply ; 
and  the  northern  part  of  Washington,  where 
moisture  conditions  improve,  shows  the  effect  in 
permitting  an  extension  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
forest  type  of  northern  Idaho,  with  Bull  Pine  and 
Silver  Pine  of  commercial  value  accompanying  the 
comparatively  valueless  Lodge-pole  Pine. 

The  Pacific  coast  forest  presents  four  types. 
The  northern  type,  covering  the  west  slope  of  the 
Cascade  and  the  Coast  ranges  through  Washington 
and  Oregon,  derives  its  value  mainly  from  the 
.Douglas  or  Red  Fir,  and  is  characterized  both  by 
density  of  stand  and  individual  development  and 
by  dense  undergrowth  in  response  to  the  great 
humidity  of  the  climate.  Associated  with  the  fir  is 
found  a  hemlock  of  not  much  inferior  develop- 
ment, but  at  present  left  unused,  and  the  Giant 
Cedar.  In  the  higher  elevations  some  excellent  true 
firs,  Silver  Pine,  Engelman,  and  other  spruces  add 
variety,  and  along  the  seashore  the  Sitka  Spruce 
and  Port  Orford  Cedar  of  limited  distribution,  while 
Yellow  or  Bull  Pine  occupies  the  sandy  flats  and 
drier  slopes.  In  its  extension  over  the  Coast  Range 
of  California  the  type  changes  somewhat,  although 


362      ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

the  same  species  are  present  and  the  density  is 
alike,  but  the  Redwood,  congener  to  the  Big  Tree,  is 
added,  and,  in  its  narrow,  long  belt  of  distribution 
from  Oregon  to  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  replaces 
in  importance  the  Douglas  Fir,  which  seems  to 
lose  in  value  in  its  more  southern  range. 

The  extension  of  the  Cascade  forest  over  the 
Sierra  Nevada  shows  a  much  greater  change,  al- 
though the  same  species  continue  in  the  composi- 
tion with  the  same  magnificent  development,  but 
the  Sugar  Pine,  a  congener  of  the  Michigan  White 
Pine,  of  ponderous  development,  is  added  and  be- 
comes the  main  and  most  valuable  timber  tree,  and 
the  forest  grows  open,  the  undergrowth  more  scanty. 
Here  the  giant  Big  Trees  occur  in  occasional  groves, 
of  historic  interest  more  than  of  commercial  value. 

Toward  the  south,  both  on  the  Coast  Range  and 
on  the  Sierra,  the  value  of  timber  growth  greatly 
diminishes,  becoming  reduced  in  size,  the  stand 
opening  more  and  more ;  finally,  in  the  southern 
ranges  of  the  San  Gabriel,  San  Bernardino,  and 
San  Jacinto  mountains,  the  timber  of  value,  Yellow 
and  Sugar  Pine  and  Red  Fir,  occurs  only  in  groves 
among  the  brush  and  chaparral  which  covers  most 
of  the  dry  slopes. 

We  have  seen  that  the  timber-producing  area  of 
this  Pacific  coast  forest  may  not  be  estimated  at 
more  than  round  60,000,000  acres,  containing 
somewhat  over  600,000  million  feet  of  merchant- 
able timber.     Upon  the  basis  of  a  compilation  of 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  363 

timber  cruisings  of  railroad  companies,  the  United 
States  Chief  Geographer  has  for  the  states  of 
Washington  and  Oregon  placed  the  merchantable 
timber  at  less  than  350,000  million  feet  on 
38,000,000  acres,  which  appears  to  us  a  rather 
low  estimate  even  with  the  high  standard  at  pres- 
ent prevailing.  Timber  cruisings  are  usually  from 
20  to  50  per  cent  below  the  actualities. 

The  writer  still  believes  that  it  would  be  per- 
fectly safe  for  purposes  of  this  general  discussion 
to  raise  this  estimate  20  per  cent,  and,  applying  the 
same  stumpage  for  California  on  a  timber-produc- 
ing area  of  18,000,000  acres,  to  arrive  at  the  above 
figure,  leaving  180,000  million  feet  of  the  amount 
credited  to  the  Western  states  on  page  52  to  be 
found  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  scattered 
regions  of  the  West. 

Indeed,  with  a  change  in  standards  and  in  log- 
ging practice,  and  especially  with  a  more  rational 
utilization  of  all  the  useful  timber,  this  estimate 
may  readily  be  doubled  or  even  trebled,  as  the 
writer  had  done  in  the  Senate  document  cited, 
when  comparing  supplies  with  the  consumption  of 
the  whole  country. 

Since  the  cut  of  lumber  in  the  Pacific  coast 
states  does  not  exceed  at  present  5,000,000,000 
feet,  no  immediate  apprehension  regarding  supplies 
would  be  justified.  Yet,  when  we  find  that  the 
value  of  the  mill-product  of  the  three  states  in- 
creased according  to  the  census  from  S8,ooo,000  in 


364  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

1880  to  1^30,000,000  in  1890,  and  to  ^54,000,000 
in  1900,  the  security  for  the  future  is  not  as  assured 
as  the  mathematical  statistician  figures  out  from 
the  given  data,  especially  since  it  is  well  known 
that  forest  fires  keep  in  check  useful  reproduction 
and  also  consume  or  make  useless  considerable 
quantities  of  standing  timber.  (See  note  on 
page  336.) 

Unsatisfactory  as  is  our  statistical  knowledge 
of  our  forest  resources,  it  is  sufficient  to  arouse 
most  serious  apprehension  as  to  future  supplies. 
We  have,  in  the  forests  of  the  United  States  out- 
side of  Alaska,  a  supply  of  coniferous  material 
most  unevenly  distributed  and  not  exceeding 
1,200,000  million  feet  to  satisfy  a  demand  of  at 
present  30,000  million  feet  per  annum  and  con- 
stantly growing.  Even  if  the  estimates  of  supplies 
were  doubled,  and  if  fires  were  stopped,  it  must  be 
evident  to  any  student  of  the  field  that  the  repro- 
duction, left  to  nature  alone,  cannot  replace  in  time 
our  requirements. 

The  argument  for  the  adoption  of  immediate 
recuperative  and  conservative  measures  from  the 
supply  point  of  view,  in  which  the  writer  for  a 
quarter  century  has  used  his  breath  and  pen 
with  indifferent  result,  would  appear  well  sus- 
tained. 

Small  beginnings  toward  the  solution  of  the  prob- 
lems which  arise  from  this  condition  of  things  have 
been    made,  but   the   importance  of   the    forestry 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  365 

movement  has  by  no  means  been  fully  and  gener- 
ally realized,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter; 
the  difficulty  of  changing  existing  usages,  lines  of 
procedure,  and  modes  of  thought  require  unusual 
effort  and  require  time. 

For  the  future,  it  is  in  the  end  of  much  more 
importance  to  know  the  acreage  available  for 
timber  growing  and  the  capacity  of  production  of 
that  acreage  than  the  actually  available  supphes. 
These,  no  matter  how  large,  every  intelHgent  man 
will  admit,  must  sooner  or  later  be  exhausted,  and 
we  must  rely  upon  the  reproduction.  The  present 
acreage  must,  to  be  sure,  change  until  all  agricul- 
turally available  lands  have  been  turned  into  farms 
and  all  lands  unfit  for  farming  have  been  turned 
back  into  forest  growth. 

But  if  we  accept  as  mere  indications  of  possibili- 
ties the  present  acreage  of  timber  land  on  the  At- 
lantic side  as  400,000,000  acres,  and  assume  that  it 
can  be  made  to  produce  at  the  same  rate  as  the 
German  forests  under  good  management,  it  would 
be  able  to  supply  continuously  the  present  con- 
sumption of  25,000,000,000  cubic  feet. 

The  most  important,  most  immediately  needful 
change  in  thought  and  practice,  without  which 
forestry,  the  provision  for  future  supplies,  cannot 
be  practically  applied,  is  that  in  regard  to  forest 
fires.  Forest  fires  are  the  bane  of  the  forests  of  the 
United  States  —  the  most  destructive  agency  ;  for 
while,  with  the  exception  of  the  Western  forests, 


366  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

the  yearly  conflagrations  destroy  comparatively 
small  amounts  of  standing  timber,  they  kill  the 
young  growth,  the  hope  of  the  future,  and  destroy 
even  the  soil,  the  fertility,  an  accumulation  of  cen- 
turies of  decaying  leaf-mould. 

In  comparison  with  our  figures  of  bona  fide  con- 
sumption the  direct  loss  of  material  through  fires 
would  appear,  from  such  incomplete  statistics  as 
are  at  hand,  as  a  small  matter,  perhaps  2  to  3  per 
cent  of  the  total  value  of  forest  products,  but  the 
indirect  loss  can  hardly  be  overestimated  ;  besides, 
the  seeming  impotency  of  coping  with  this  destruc- 
tive agency  discourages  more  conservative  forest 
management  on  the  part  of  forest  owners,  who 
are,  under  the  circumstances,  naturally  induced  to 
shorten  the  risk  and  turn  into  cash  as  quickly  as 
possible  what  is  valuable  in  the  forest  growth,  leav- 
ing the  balance  to  its  fate. 

That,  with  the  reckless  exploitation  of  our  virgin 
woods,  accompanied  by  these  forest  fires,  which 
have  become  notorious  throughout  the  world,  not 
only  timber  supplies  have  been  decimated,  but  the 
protective  function  of  the  forest  cover  on  moun- 
tain slopes  has  been  considerably  injured  in  many 
places,  goes  without  saying. 

Although  it  is  even  more  difficult  to  adduce  defi- 
nite data  regarding  this  influence,  the  argument  of 
the  pernicious  influence  of  forest  destruction  on 
waterflow  and  loss  of  soil  has  found  much  more 
ready  ears  among  the  public. 


FOREST   CONDITIONS.  367 

Indeed  it  is  often  used  in  the  most  absurd, 
extravagant,  and  unintelligent  manner. 

In  the  Eastern  forest,  especially  the  mountain 
forest,  wholesale  denudation  is  comparatively  rare, 
since  the  lumberman  usually  culls  merely;  repro- 
duction at  least  of  a  shrubby  vegetation  is  most 
rapid,  and  there  would  be  little  danger  of  losing  the 
protective  cover  through  lumbering  operations  if 
the  fires  were  kept  out. 

Even  if  a  fire  goes  through  the  slash,  it  is  not 
many  years  before  a  new  vegetation  has  estabhshed 
itself,  and  only  repeated  fires  can  produce  a  real 
denudation. 

The  effects  are,  of  course,  variable  according  to 
a  variety  of  circumstances  and  conditions,  the  time 
of  occurrence  of  the  fires,  the  amount  of  debris  to 
feed  the  flames,  the  character  of  the  soil  and  its 
cover,  etc. 

While  the  mountain  forests  on  the  Atlantic  side 
show  only  here  and  there  really  serious  detriment 
to  soil  and  soil  cover  due  to  lumbering  operations 
and  fires,  injudicious  clearing  for  farm  use  and 
improper  management  of  farm  lands  are  much 
more  frequently  the  causes  of  undue  erosion  and 
soil  washes. 

Signs  of  the  deleterious  influences  of  undue 
deforestation  are  visible  in  all  parts  of  the  Eastern 
United  States,  and  a  chapter  could  readily  be  filled 
with  detailed  descriptions  of  regions  which  have 
especially  suffered. 


368  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

Sand-dunes  have  been  created  by  forest  removal 
on  all  parts  of  our  sea-shore ;  uneven  water  stages 
have  been  aggravated  in  all  the  older  parts  of  the 
Union  ;  soil  washes  can  be  seen  in  all  the  mountain 
and  hill  country,  especially  in  the  Southern  states, 
with  their  abandoned  or  mismanaged  farm  lands. 

In  the  Western  mountains,  where  fires  are  more 
destructive  on  account  of  the  coniferous  composi- 
tion and  the  dry  climate,  and  where  the  pasturing 
of  sheep  in  the  forests  prevents  ready  reestablish- 
ment  of  vegetation,  the  results  are  even  more 
readily  observed. 

We  are  experiencing  droughts,  we  are  suffering 
from  floods,  we  have  uneven  seasons ;  but  how 
much  of  these  conditions  is  to  be  ascribed  to  our 
forest  conditions,  how  much  to  general  cosmic 
causes,  nobody  can  determine.  At  any  rate  these 
conditions  can  be  discussed  and  corrected  only  for 
definite  local  points.  We  have,  perhaps,  nowhere 
as  yet  come  to  such  state  of  affairs  as  those  re- 
ported from  the  high  Alps  of  France,  Switzerland, 
Austria,  and  Italy,  but  a  continuance  of  our 
present  disregard  of  the  soil  cover  must  inevitably 
lead  to  them. 

Meanwhile  the  supply  question  is  the  more  im- 
portant, and  attention  to  this,  leading  to  the  practice 
of  silviculture,  will  naturally  also  incidentally  cor- 
rect the  evils  of  denudation. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

THE  FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  the  settlement  of 
the  country  some  wise  heads  recognized  that  atten- 
tion to  satisfactory  forest  conditions  is  as  neces- 
sary as  attention  to  other  economic  conditions. 
William  Penn,  the  founder  and  first  legislator  of 
Pennsylvania,  as  early  as  1682,  stipulated  in  his 
ordinances,  regarding  the  disposal  of  lands,  that 
for  every  five  acres  cleared  of  forest  growth  one 
acre  should  be  left  to  forest.  In  1640,  only  two 
years  after  its  settlement,  the  inhabitants  of 
Exeter,  N.  H.,  adopted  a  general  order  for  the 
regulation  of  the  cutting  of  oak  timber,  then  a 
most  valuable  export  material,  a  precaution  which 
other  towns  followed.  In  1701,  the  governor  of 
New  York  reports  40  mills  in  the  province  of  New 
York,  and  referring  to  one  working  with  12  saws, 
he  adds,  "  A  few  such  mills  will  quickly  destroy 
all  the  woods  in  the  Province  at  a  reasonable  dis- 
tance from  them."  And  he  recommended  that 
each  person  who  removed  a  tree  should  pay  for 
planting  four  or  five  young  trees,  as  the  Russians 
do  to-day.^ 

1  See  "  History  of  the   Lumber  Industry  in  the  State  of  New 
York,"  by  Colonel  W.  T.  Fox,  6th  Kept,  of  F.  F.  G.  Com.,  1901. 
2B  369 


370  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

In  1708,  the  provincial  assembly  of  New 
Hampshire  forbade  the  cutting  of  mast  trees  on 
ungranted  lands  under  a  penalty  of  £100,  and 
at  that  early  time  the  province  had  a  surveyor- 
general  of  forests,  appointed  by  royal  authority, 
for  the  purpose  of  preventing  depredations  upon 
the  timber.  No  doubt  this  early  regard  to  the 
timber  supplies  in  the  face  of  plenty  came  largely 
through  the  momentum  of  education,  suggested 
by  the  usages  and  methods  of  the  mother  coun- 
tries, where  forest  protection  had  already  become 
an  established  policy,  and  even  forestry  practices 
existed. 

A  century  later,  real  want  seems  to  have  ap- 
peared, or  at  least  anticipation  of  it.  For,  in  1795, 
the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Agriculture,  Arts, 
and  Manufactures  published  a  report  on  the  best 
mode  of  preserving  and  increasing  growth  of  tim- 
bers, an  outcome  of  an  inquiry  by  circular  letter 
issued  in  1791  ;  and  in  1804,  the  Massachusetts 
Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Agriculture  offered 
prizes  for  successful  forest  plantations ;  while 
the  federal  government,  between  the  years  1799 
and  183 1,  appropriated  money  for  the  purchase 
and  passed  legislation  for  the  protection  of  live- 
oak  timber,  suitable  for  navy  purposes,  under 
which  acts  it  acquired  some  250,000  acres  in  Ala- 
bama, Florida,  Louisiana,  and  Mississippi,  —  not 
as  a  matter  of  general  forest  policy,  but  to  secure 
sufficient  supplies  of  a  special  material,  restricted 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    371 

in  amount,  and  supposed  to  be  a  continued  neces- 
sity for  building  war  ships.^ 

We  can  now  smile  at  the  concern  expressed  so 
early  by  writers  in  public  prints,  with  regard  to 
the  threatened  exhaustion  of  forest  supplies.  But 
it  must  be  understood  that  the  extent  of  our  forest 
domain  was  then  entirely  unknown,  the  population 
was  confined  mainly  to  the  Eastern  coast  country, 
and  in  the  absence  of  railroad  communication,  only 
the  supplies  adjacent  to  rivers  and  sea  were  avail- 
able, and,  just  as  in  Europe,  the  fuel  question  was 
uppermost,  as  long  as  coal  had  not  yet  been  de- 
veloped; hence  location  of  supplies  close  to  centres 
of  civilization  was  of  more  moment. 

With  the  rapid  development  of  the  country,  and 
the  opening  up  of  means  of  transportation,  such 
as  the  Erie  Canal,  the  apprehensions  regarding 
supplies  seem  to  have  vanished.  During  the 
active  period  of  expansion,  from  1820  to  i860, 
when  the  population  more  than  quadrupled,  over 
one  and  a  half  million  farms  were  established, 
mainly  hewn  from  the  forest,  the  timber  in  the 
absence  of  a  ready  market  being  largely  burned 
in  the  log  pile  ;  and  with  the  necessity  of  constantly 
having  to  subdue  tree  growth,  not  only  a  feeling 
of  inexhaustible  resources  and  hence  of  careless- 
ness, but   almost   a   real    pleasure   in   destruction 

1  Laws  to  punish  malicious  and  wilful  incendiarism  and  some- 
times also  careless  firing  of  the  woods  were  about  this  period  en- 
acted in  almost  every  state. 


372  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

seems  to  have  been  inculcated  in  the  early  settlers. 
Then  came  the  period  of  railroad  building  and  the 
settling  of  the  Western  prairies  and  plains,  after 
i860,  and  then  only  the  enormous  lumber  business, 
as  we  know  it  to-day,  came  into  existence. 

The  difference  in  the  volume  and  character  of 
the  business  of  forest  exploitation  is  most  readily 
seen  by  comparing  the  census  figures  at  different 
periods.  In  1840,  there  were  reported  31,560 
lumber  mills,  with  a  total  product  valued  at 
$12,943,507,  or  a  little  over  $400  per  mill.  Small 
country  mills,  run  like  gristmills  and  often  in  con- 
nection with  such,  sawed  to  order  for  home  con- 
sumption, or  sent  material  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  to  be  carried  by  vessel  to  home  and  foreign 
markets.  By  1870,  a  change  had  already  become 
apparent,  when  the  product  per  mill  was  $6500, 
which  in  1890  had  grown  to  ^19,000,  or  about 
three  times  the  value  of  1870  with  only  21,011 
mills  reported. 

In  1865,  the  state  of  New  York  still  furnished 
more  lumber  than  any  other  state  ;  it  now  is  seven- 
teenth in  the  list  with  less  than  one  billion  feet. 
In  1868,  the  golden  age  of  lumbering  had  arrived 
in  Michigan,  and  this  state  is  still  second  with  over 
three  bilHon  feet;  in  1871,  rafts  filled  the  Wisconsin 
River,  and  the  state  of  Wisconsin  is  now  the  largest 
producer ;  yet  the  30  mills  of  Eau  Claire,  20  mills 
at  Marathon,  20  mills  at  Fond  du  Lac,  which  in 
1875  cut  millions  of  feet,  are  now  all  gone. 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.     373 

Besides  the  concentration  of  the  lumber  busi- 
ness into  large  establishments  which  these  figures 
show,  there  are  other  interesting  changes  indicated 
in  the  census  figures,  which  have  a  bearing  upon 
the  question  of  the  need  of  a  forest  policy  and  the 
cause  for  its  development.  While  in  1890  the 
efficiency  of  the  single  mill  establishments  had  in- 
creased to  three  times  what  it  was  in  1870,  and  to 
nearly  fifty  times  that  of  1840,  the  total  product 
had  also  increased  in  the  last  twenty  years  nearly 
three  times,  but  the  capital  employed  in  the  lum- 
ber industry  had  increased  four  and  one-third  times ; 
and  while  capital  became  less  efficient  with  concen- 
tration, the  unit  product  of  labor  also  became  less 
efficient  in  spite  of  the  improvement  of  machinery, 
every  dollar  of  capital  producing  less  result  by  over 
40  per  cent  in  1890,  in  the  value  of  the  product, 
and  every  dollar  of  wages  producing  less  result  by 
over  12  per  cent,  but  the  cost  of  raw  material  had 
increased  over  16  per  cent,  —  all  these  are  signs 
pointing  to  the  deterioration  and  exhaustion  of 
supplies  at  least  in  the  principal  producing  regions. 
The  census  of  1900  is,  at  present  writing,  not  ac- 
cessible in  a  form  permitting  such  comparisons, 
except  that  we  can  note  an  apparent  increase  in 
value  of  product  of  nearly  30  per  cent  over  that  of 
1890.     (See  Appendix  for  further  details.) 

It  would  be  difficult  to  set  a  date  or  mark  an 
event  from  which  the  change  in  the  methods  of 
the  lumber  industry,  now  such  a  stupendous  factor 


374  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

in  forest  decimation,  might  be  reckoned ;  it  came 
as  gradually  or  as  fast  as  railway  systems  de- 
veloped,  and  made  accessible  the  vast  fields  of 
supply  in  the  northwestern  Lake  states  just  as  the 
supplies  of  the  Eastern  states  began  to  weaken.^ 

By  1882  the  Saginaw  Valley  had  reached  the 
climax  of  its  production,  and  the  lumber  industry 
of  the  great  Northwest,  with  a  cut  of  eight  billion 
feet  of  white  pine  alone,  was  in  full  blast.  South- 
ern development  began  much  later  to  assume  large 
proportions,  but  by  the  present  time  the  lumber 
product  of  the  Southern  states  has  grown  to  pro- 
portions equal,  if  not  superior,  to  those  of  the 
Northern  states. 

No  wonder  that  those  observing  this  rapid  deci- 
mation of  our  forest  suppUes  and  the  incredible 
wastefulness  and  additional  destruction  by  fire,  with 
no  attention  to  the  aftergrowth,  began  again  to 
sound  the  note  of  alarm.  Besides  the  writings  in 
the  daily  press  and  other  non-official  publications, 
we  find  the  reports  of  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  more  and  more  frequently 
calling  attention  to  the  subject. 

In  the  report  issued  by  the  Patent  Office  as  early 
as  1849,  we  find  the  following  significant  language 
in  a  discussion  on  the  influence  of  forests  on  water- 
flow  and  their  rapid  destruction  :  — 

"  The  waste  of  valuable  timber  in  the  United 

^  See  "American  Lumber,"  by  B.  E.  Fernow,  in  "One  Hun- 
dred Years  of  American  Commerce,"  D.  O,  Haynes  &  Co.,  1895. 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.     375 

States,  to  say  nothing  of  firewood,  will  hardly  be- 
gin to  be  appreciated  until  our  population  reaches 
50,000,000.  Then  the  folly  and  shortsightedness 
of  this  age  will  meet  with  a  degree  of  censure  and 
reproach  not  pleasant  to  contemplate." 

The  report  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
for  i860  contains  a  long  article  by  J.  G.  Cooper  on 
"  The  forests  and  trees  of  northern  America  as 
connected  with  climate  and  agriculture." 

In  1865,  the  Rev.  Frederic  Starr  discussed  fully 
and  forcibly  the  "  American  forests,  their  destruc- 
tion and  preservation,"  in  which,  with  truly  pro- 
phetic vision,  he  says  :  — 

"  It  is  feared  it  will  be  long,  perhaps  a  full  cen- 
tury, before  the  results  at  which  we  ought  to  aim 
as  a  nation  will  be  realized  by  our  whole  country, 
to  wit,  that  we  should  raise  an  adequate  supply  of 
wood  and  timber  for  all  our  wants.  TJie  evils 
xvJiicJi  arc  anticipated  will  probably  increase  upon 
lis  for  thirty  years  to  come  with  tenfold  the  rapidity 
ivitJi  zvJiicJi  restoring  or  ameliorating  measures  shall 
be  adopt edy 

And  again :  — 

"  Like  a  cloud  no  bigger  than  a  man's  hand  just 
rising  from  the  sea,  an  awakening  interest  begins 
to  come  in  sight  on  this  subject,  which  as  a  ques- 
tion of  political  economy  will  place  the  interests 
of  cotton,  wool,  coal,  iron,  meat,  and  even  grain 
beneath  its  feet.  Some  of  these,  according  to  the 
demand,  can  be  produced  in  a  few  days,  others  in 


376  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

a  few  months  or  in  a  few  years,  but  timber  in  not 
less  than  one  generation.  The  nation  has  slept 
because  the  gnawing  of  want  has  not  awakened 
her.  She  has  had  plenty  and  to  spare,  but  within 
thirty  years  she  will  be  conscious  that  not  only 
individual  want  is  present,  but  that  it  comes  to 
each  from  permanent  national  famine  of  wood." 

The  article  is  full  of  interesting  detail,  and  may 
be  said  to  be  the  starting  basis  for  the  campaign 
for  better  methods  which  followed. 

Another  and  unquestionably  most  influential 
official  report  was  that  upon  "  Forests  and  Forestry 
of  Germany,"  by  Dr.  John  A.  Warder,  United  States 
commissioner  to  the  World's  Fair  at  Vienna  in 
1873.  Dr.  Warder  set  forth  clearly  and  correctly 
the  methods  employed  abroad  in  the  use  of  forests, 
and  became  himself  one  of  the  most  prominent 
propagandists  for  their  adoption  in  his  own  coun- 
try. About  the  same  time  appeared  the  classical 
work  of  George  P.  Marsh,  our  minister  to  Italy, 
"  The  Earth  as  Modified  by  Human  Action,"  in 
which  the  evil  effects  of  forest  destruction  on  cul- 
tural conditions  were  ably  and  forcibly  pointed 
out. 

The  census  for  1870  for  the  first  time  attempted 
a  canvass  of  our  forest  resources,  and  the  rela- 
tively small  area  of  forest  became  known.  All 
these  publications  had  their  influence  in  edu- 
cating a  larger  number  to  a  conception  and  con- 
sideration of  the  importance  of  the  subject,  so  that 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    377 

when,  in  1873,  a  committee  on  forestry  of  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science  was  formed,  and  its  memorial  calling  for 
the  creation  of  a  commissioner  of  forestry  to  gather 
information  was  presented  to  Congress,  there  ex- 
isted already  an  intelligent  audience;  and,  although 
a  considerable  amount  of  lethargy  and  lack  of 
interest  was  exhibited.  Congress  could  be  per- 
suaded, in  1876,  to  establish  the  agency  in  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  out  of 
which  grew  the  Division  of  Forestry  now  desig- 
nated as  Bureau  of  Forestry. 

While  these  were  the  beginnings  of  an  official 
recognition  of  the  subject  by  the  federal  govern- 
ment, private  enterprise  and  the  separate  states 
started  also  about  the  same  time  to  forward  the 
movement.  In  1867,  the  agricultural  and  horti- 
cultural societies  of  Wisconsin  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  report  on  the  disastrous  effects  of  forest 
destruction.  In  1869,  the  Maine  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture appointed  a  committee  to  report  on  a  forest 
policy  for  the  state,  leading  to  the  act  of  1872  "for 
the  encouragement  of  the  growth  of  trees,"  ex- 
empting from  taxation  for  twenty  years  lands 
planted  to  trees,  which  law,  as  far  as  we  know, 
remained  without  result.  About  the  same  time  a 
real  wave  of  enthusiasm  with  regard  to  planting  of 
timber  seems  to  have  pervaded  the  country,  and 
especially  the  Western  prairie  states.  In  addition 
to  laws  regarding  the  planting  of  trees  on  high- 


378  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

ways,  there  were  enacted  laws  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  timber  planting,  either  under  bounty  or 
exemption  from  taxation,  in  Iowa,  Kansas,  and 
Wisconsin  in  1868,  in  Nebraska  and  in  New  York  in 
1869,  in  Missouri  in  1870,  in  Minnesota  in  1 871,  in 
Iowa  in  1872,  in  Illinois  in  1874,  in  Nevada,  Dakota, 
and  Connecticut  in  1877,  and  finally  the  federal 
government  joined  in  this  kind  of  legislation  by 
the  so-called  timber  culture  acts  of  1873  and  1874, 
amended  in  1876  and  1877. 

For  the  most  part  these  laws  remained  a  dead 
letter.  The  encouragement  by  release  from  taxes, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  federal  government,  was 
not  much  of  an  inducement,  nor  does  the  bounty 
provision  seem  to  have  had  greater  success,  except 
in  taking  money  out  of  the  treasuries.  Finally 
these  laws  were  in  most  states  repealed. 

The  timber  culture  act  was  passed  by  Congress 
on  March  3,  1873;  by  this  act  the  planting  of 
timber  on  40  acres  of  land,  or  a  proportionate  area 
in  the  treeless  territory,  conferred  the  title  to  160 
acres  or  a  proportionate  amount  of  the  public 
domain.  This  law  had  not  been  in  existence  ten 
years  when  its  repeal  was  demanded,  and  this  was 
finally  secured  in  1891,  the  reason  being  that,  partly 
owing  to  the  crude  provisions  of  the  law  and  partly 
to  the  lack  of  proper  supervision,  it  had  been 
abused  and  had  given  rise  to  much  fraud  in  obtain- 
ing title  to  lands  under  false  pretences.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  say  how  much  impetus  the  law  gave  to  bona- 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    379 

fide  forest-planting  and  how  much  timber  growth 
has  resulted  from  it.  Unfavorable  climate,  lack  of 
satisfactory  plant  material,  and  lack  of  knowledge 
as  to  proper  methods  led  to  many  failures,  and  on 
the  whole  the  expected  results  were  not  realized. 
Private  interest  of  homesteaders  and  settlers  with- 
out these  aids  has  probably  been  more  effective. 
In  this  direction  the  establishment  of  arbor  days 
throughout  the  states  has  been  a  stimulating  influ- 
ence. From  its  inception  by  Governor  J.  Sterling 
Morton  and  first  inauguration  by  the  State  Board  of 
Agriculture  of  Nebraska  in  1872,  it  has  become  a 
day  of  observance  in  nearly  every  state,  and  its 
adoption  as  a  national  holiday  may  be  shortly 
expected. 

While,  with  the  exception  of  the  so-called  treeless 
states,  perhaps  not  much  planting  of  economic 
value  is  done,  the  observance  of  the  day  in  schools 
as  one  set  apart  for  the  discussion  of  the  importance 
of  trees,  forests,  and  forestry,  has  been  productive 
of  an  increased  interest  in  the  subject. 

Nevertheless,  arbor  days  have  had  also  a  retarding 
influence  upon  the  practical  forestry  movement  in 
leading  people  into  the  misconception  that  forestry 
consists  in  tree-planting,  in  diverting  attention  from 
the  economic  question  of  the  proper  use  of  existing 
forest  areas,  in  bringing  into  the  discussion  poetry 
and  emotions,  which  have  clouded  the  hardheaded 
practical  issues  and  delayed  the  earnest  attention 
of  practical  business  men. 


380  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

The  amount  of  tree-planting  performed  on  the 
prairies,  plains,  and  Western  valleys,  although  ag- 
gregating thousands  of  acres,  is  infinitesimal,  if 
compared  with  what  is  necessary  for  cHmatic 
amelioration ;  and  it  may  be  admitted,  now  as  well 
as  later,  that  the  reforestation  of  the  plains  must 
be  a  matter  of  cooperative,  if  not  of  national,  enter- 
prise. 

Indeed,  as  a  result  of  an  experiment  instituted 
by  the  writer  in  1890  to  prove  that  the  sand-hills  of 
Nebraska  could  and  should  be  planted  to  conifers, 
the  federal  government  has  lately  reserved  200,000 
acres  for  such  planting,  out  of  the  15,000,000  acres 
comprised  in  this  sand-hill  region. 

Private  efforts  in  the  East  in  the  way  of  fostering 
and  carrying  on  economic  timber-planting  should 
not  be  forgotten,  such  as  the  prizes  offered  by  the 
Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Agriculture,  the  plant- 
ing done  by  the  private  landholders  at  Cape  Cod,  in 
Rhode  Island,  Virginia,  and  elsewhere. 

There  have  also  been,  here  and  there,  farmers 
bestowing  care  on  the  manner  of  cutting  their 
woodlots ;  lumbermen  and  other  forest  owners 
have,  now  and  then,  not  only  made  special  efforts 
to  protect  their  forest  properties  against  fire,  but 
have  done  their  cutting  conservatively  and  with 
care  for  the  existing  young  growth. 

Yet,  altogether,  these  efforts  have  been  sporadic, 
unsystematic,  and  not  on  any  scale  commensurate 
with  the  destruction  of  virgin  resources,  as  may  be 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    381 

learned  from  an  article  in  the  Year-book  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  for 
1899,  in  which  an  attempt  is  made  to  collect  the 
facts  regarding  these  efforts  and  place  them  in 
the  most  favorable  light.  While  perhaps  conser- 
vative culling  has  been  practised  by  lumbermen  in 
more  cases  than  is  known,  actual  forestry  practice 
with  a  view  to  securing  reproduction  has  been  rare 
and  only  very  lately  introduced  in  a  few  conspicu- 
ous cases,  the  Forestry  Bureau  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  being  instrumental  in 
most  of  them ;  this  bureau  offering  to  prepare  so- 
called  "  working  plans "  for  private  owners,  in 
which  some  rules  for  the  cutting  of  mature  timber 
are  laid  down,  intended  to  insure  a  succession  of 
young  growth.  It  is  stated,  that  owners  of  nearly 
2,000,000  acres  have  asked  for  such  advice.  With 
the  increase  of  educated  foresters  able  to  make 
and  carry  out  such  working  plans,  and  with  the 
appreciation  by  the  forest  owners  of  the  possibility 
of  securing  continuous  revenues  by  a  conservative 
treatment  of  their  properties  under  such  plans, 
these  small  beginnings  promise  to  bring  about  the 
much-needed  reform,  especially  with  the  owners  of 
extensive  tracts,  who  are  financially  able  to  forego 
the  present  revenue  from  closer  cutting  for  the 
sake  of  better  future  returns,  which  may  be  de- 
rived from  more  conservative  lumbering. 

Most  of  the  efforts  to  engage  state  governments 
in  estabUshing  forest  poHcies  originated  in  associa- 


382  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

tions  formed  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  neces- 
sary propaganda. 

The  first  forestry  association  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  advancing  forestry  interests  was  formed 
on  January  12,  1876,  in  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  largely 
through  the  efforts  of  Leonard  B.  Hodges.  This 
association  was  aided  by  state  appropriations, 
which  enabled  it  to  offer  premiums  for  the  setting 
out  of  plantations,  and  also  to  publish  and  distribute 
widely  a  Tree  Planters'  Manual.  Revised  editions 
are  issued  from  time  to  time,  and  a  distribution  of 
plant  material  is  also  occasionally  attempted,  the 
state  aiding  to  the  extent  of  $1000  to  $2000 
annually. 

In  1875,  Dr.  John  A.  Warder  issued  a  call  for  a 
convention  in  Chicago  to  form  a  national  forestry 
association.  This  association  was  completed  in 
1876  at  Philadelphia,  but  never  showed  any  life  or 
growth. 

In  1882,  a  number  of  patriotic  citizens  at  Cin- 
cinnati called  together  a  forestry  congress,  incited 
thereto  by  the  visit  and  representations  of  Baron 
von  Steuben,  a  Prussian  forest  official,  when  attend- 
ing the  centennial  celebration  of  the  surrender  of 
Yorktown. 

A  very  enthusiastic  and  representative  gathering, 
on  April  25,  lasting  through  the  week,  led  to  the 
formation  of  the  American  Forestry  Association. 
This  association,  holding  yearly  and  intermediate 
meetings    in    different    parts    of    the    states,    has 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    383 

become  the  centre  of  all  private  efforts  to  advance 
the  forestry  movement.  Twelve  volumes  of  its 
proceedings  contain  not  only  the  history  of  prog- 
ress in  establishing  a  forest  poHcy,  but  also  much 
other  information  of  value  on  forestry  subjects.  It 
now  publishes  a  monthly  journal,  The  Forester, 
(since  1902  called  Forestry  ajid  Irrigation).  It  is 
unaided  by  government,  its  efforts  being  entirely 
borne  by  private  means  and  the  annual  dues  of  its 
membership,  its  officers  doing  gratuitous  work.  It 
has  been  especially  instrumental  in  bringing  about 
the  establishment  of  the  federal  forest  reservation 
policy,  which  we  will  note  further  on  in  detail. 

Other  local  or  state  forestry  associations  were 
formed  more  or  less  under  the  lead  of  the  national 
association,  and  exist  now  in  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, New  Hampshire,  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
New  Jersey,  North  Carolina,  South  CaroUna,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Minnesota,  North  Dakota,  Colorado,  Utah, 
and  Washington,  while  several  other  societies,  like 
the  Sierra  Club,  the  Water  and  Forest  Association, 
and  the  Mazamas  of  the  Pacific  coast,  and  state 
horticultural  societies  in  various  states,  make  the 
subject  one  to  be  discussed  and  to  be  fostered. 

The  most  active  of  these  associations,  publish- 
ing also,  since  its  formation  in  1886,  a  bimonthly 
journal.  Forest  Leaves,  is  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Forestry  Association,  which  has  succeeded  in 
thoroughly  committing  its  state  to  a  proper  fores'; 
policy,  as  far  as  official  recognition  is  concerned. 


384  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

Usually,  as  a  result  of  this  associated  private 
effort,  various  states  have  appointed  forestry  com- 
missions or  commissioners.  These  commissions 
were  at  first  for  the  most  part  instituted  for  in- 
quiry and  to  make  a  report,  upon  which  a  forest 
pohcy  for  the  state  might  be  framed.  Others 
have  become  permanent  parts  of  the  state  organ- 
ization with  executive  or  educational  functions. 
Such  commissions  of  inquiry  were  appointed  at 
various  times  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
Massachusetts,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl- 
vania, North  Carolina,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
North  Dakota,  Colorado,  California;  while  com- 
missioners or  commissions  with  executive  duties 
exist  now  or  did  exist  for  a  time  in  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Indiana,  Kansas,  North  Da- 
kota, Colorado,  and  California. 

Maine  has  an  efficient  forest  fire  law  (chap.  26  of 
Revised  Statutes)  based  on  that  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  and  a  forest  commissioner  (created  in 
1 89 1,  Public  Laws,  chap.  100)  —  the  state  land 
agent  of  the  state  being  ex  officio  designated  as 
such  —  to  look  to  its  execution.  He  is  also  to 
create  an  interest  in  forestry  and  furnish  useful 
information  on  the  subject. 

Two  very  interesting  and  instructive  reports  on 
the  growth  of  the  spruce  and  on  alHed  subjects 
are  the  result. 

New  Hampshire  had  a  temporary  commission  of 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.     385 

inquiry,  appointed  in  1881  and  reporting  in  1885  ; 
and  another  such  commission  in  1889,  reporting  in 
1893,  when  the  permanent  forestry  commission 
was  created  (March  29,  1893)  with  a  paid  secre- 
tary, who  pubUshes  an  annual  report.  The  main 
function  of  the  commission  is  one  of  inquiry  and 
suggestion,  besides  partial  supervision  of  the  forest 
fire  law.  The  acquisition  of  public  parks,  if  pri- 
vate munificence  should  be  found  willing  to  furnish 
the  necessary  funds,  is  also  made  a  part  of  the 
function  of  the  commission.  Two  small  areas 
have  been  donated  for  this  purpose.  Within  the 
last  year  (1901)  the  Society  for  the  Protection 
of  New  Hampshire  Forests  was  formed,  which, 
through  the  employment  of  a  forester,  attempts  to 
secure  increased  practical  interest. 

In  Massachusetts  no  special  public  officers  are 
charged  with  the  care  of  forestry  interests,  and 
hence  the  otherwise  useful  existing  legislation  in 
the  interest  of  forestry  is  probably  of  only  partial 
effect.  Its  best  feature  is  perhaps  that  of  encour- 
aging communities  to  become  owners  of  forest 
tracts  (chap.  255,  acts  of  1882).  The  city  of  Bos- 
ton has  made  special  efforts  in  this  direction,  hav- 
ing set  aside  more  than  7000  acres  for  forest 
parks.  The  State  Board  of  Agriculture  was,  in 
1890,  ordered  to  inquire  "into  the  condition  of 
the  forests  of  the  state,  the  need  and  methods  of 
their  protection,"  and  report  thereon,  which  order 
did  not  produce  anything  of  value.     A  bill  to  se- 

2C 


386  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

cure  such  forest  survey,  introduced  into  the  legis- 
lature in  the  year  1897,  failed  of  passage. 

In  Vermont  a  commission  of  inquiry  was  insti- 
tuted in  1882,  reporting  in  1884  without  any  prac- 
tical result,  the  proposed  legislation  remaining 
unconsidered. 

In  New  York  a  law  was  passed  in  1872  naming 
seven  citizens,  with  Horatio  Seymour,  chairman, 
as  a  state  park  commission,  instructed  to  make 
inquiries  with  the  view  of  reserving  or  appropriat- 
ing the  wild  lands  lying  northward  of  the  Mo- 
hawk, or  so  much  thereof  as  might  be  deemed 
expedient,  for  a  state  park.  The  commission, 
finding  that  the  state  then  owned  only  40,000 
acres  in  that  region,  and  that  there  was  a  tendency 
on  the  part  of  the  holders  of  the  rest  to  combine 
for  the  enhancement  of  values  should  the  state 
want  to  buy,  recommended  a  law  forbidding  fur- 
ther sales  of  state  lands,  and  their  retention  when 
forfeited  for  the  nonpayment  of  taxes. 

It  was  eleven  years  later,  in  1883,  that  this 
recommendation  was  acted  upon,  when  the  state 
through  the  nonpayment  of  taxes  by  the  owners 
had  become  possessed  of  600,000  acres  —  the  nu- 
cleus of  the  later  state  forest  preserve. 

In  1884,  the  comptroller  was  authorized  to  em- 
ploy "  such  experts  as  he  may  deem  necessary  to 
investigate  and  report  a  system  of  forest  preser- 
vation." The  report  of  a  commission  of  four 
members  was  made   in    1885,  but   the  legislation 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.     387 

proposed  was  antagonized  by  the  lumbering  in- 
terests. The  legislature  finally  passed  a  compro- 
mise bill  formulated  in  part  by  the  writer,  entitled 
"  An  act  estabUshing  a  forest  commission,  and  to 
define  its  powers,  and  for  the  preservation  of 
forests." 

This  legislation,  afterward  amended,  is  the  most 
comprehensive  of  that  of  any  state  in  the  Union. 

The  original  forest  commission,  appointed  under 
the  act  of  May  15,  1885,  was  superseded  in  1895  by 
the  Commission  of  Fisheries,  Game,  and  Forests 
(now  designated  "  Forest,  Fish,  and  Game  Commis- 
sion") under  the  law  of  April  25,  1895.  This  law 
is  a  comprehensive  measure  in  which  allied  inter- 
ests are  brought  under  the  control  of  a  single 
board.  Under  this  law  the  commission  consisted 
of  five  members  appointed  by  the  governor  with 
consent  of  the  senate,  the  term  of  office  being  five 
years. 

By  later  changes,  the  number  of  commissioners 
was  reduced  to  three,  two  of  whom  are  to  discon- 
tinue with  the  year  1903,  so  that  then  a  single 
commissioner  will  be  in  charge.  The  commission 
has  full  control  of  the  Adirondack  Preserve,  with  a 
staff  of  officials  which  includes  a  superintendent 
of  forests,  three  expert  foresters  (since  1900)  who 
are  graduates  of  the  State  College  of  Forestry, 
and  some  forty  "fish  and  game  protectors  and 
foresters,"  z'.e.  not  technically  educated  guards. 

The  duties  of  the  commission  besides  publish- 


388  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

ing  annual  reports  are  described  in  the  laws  of 
1895,  namely,  to  (i)  have  the  care,  custody,  control, 
and  superintendence  of  the  forest  preserve;  (2) 
maintain,  protect,  and  promote  the  growth  of  the 
forests  in  the  preserve ;  (3)  have  charge  of  the 
public  interests  of  the  state  in  regard  to  forestry 
and  tree-planting,  and  especially  with  reference  to 
forest  fires  in  every  part  of  the  state ;  (4)  possess 
all  the  powers  relating  to  the  preserve  which  were 
vested  in  the  commissioners  of  the  land  office  and 
in  the  comptroller  on  May  15,  1885;  (5)  prescribe 
rules  and  regulations  affecting  the  whole  or  any 
part  of  the  preserve  for  its  use,  care,  and  adminis- 
tration, and  alter  or  amend  the  same ;  but  neither 
such  rules  or  regulations  nor  anything  contained 
in  this  article  shall  prevent  or  operate  to  prevent 
the  free  use  of  any  road,  stream,  or  water  as  the 
same  may  have  been  heretofore  used,  or  as  may 
be  reasonably  required  in  the  prosecution  of  any 
lawful  business  ;  (6)  take  measures  for  the  awaken- 
ing of  an  interest  in  forestry  in  the  schools  and 
the  imparting  of  elementary  instruction  on  such 
subject  therein,  and  issue  tracts  and  circulars  for 
the  care  of  private  woodlands,  etc. ;  (7)  print  and 
post  rules  for  the  prevention  and  suppression  of 
forest  fires. 

In  singular  antagonism  to  these  duties,  especially 
that  which  calls  for  the  promotion  of  the  growth 
of  forests  in  the  preserve,  stands  a  provision  in 
the  state  constitution,  which  was  inserted  in  1893, 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.     389 

after  the  commission  had  existed  for  8  years, 
barring  the  rational  use  and  the  application  of  any 
forest  management  in  the  preserve  in  the  follow- 
ing language  :  — 

Article  VII  :  "The  lands  of  the  State  constitut- 
ing the  forest  preserve  now  fixed  by  law  shall  be 
forever  kept  as  wild  lands.  They  shall  not  be 
leased,  sold  or  exchanged,  or  be  taken  by  any  cor- 
poration, pubhc  or  private,  nor  shall  the  timber 
thereon  be  sold  or  removed  or  destroyed." 

This  certainly  forbids  the  practice  of  forestry 
as  explained  in  the  chapter  on  "  Silviculture,"  and 
would  seemingly  exclude  even  the  planting  of  waste 
lands,  although  the  commission  during  the  present 
year,  stimulated  by  the  example  of  the  College  of 
Forestry,  has  set  out  a  large  number  of  trees  on 
such  lands.  Repeated  efforts  to  remove  this  con- 
stitutional bar  to  forestry  practice  on  state  lands 
have  been  made,  but  the  people  have  so  far  refused 
to  reconsider  the  injunction,  partly  because  of  mis- 
trust of  the  commission's  technical  ability,  partly 
because  of  ignorance  or  misconception  of  what 
forestry  means,  partly  because  of  the  influence  of 
wealthy  property  owners,  who  desire  to  keep  these 
woods  in  the  wild  condition  for  their  pleasure  ;  and 
there  are  perhaps  good  reasons  why  this  economic 
loss  should  be  endured  until  more  education  in  for- 
estry matters  is  secured  and  the  forest  preserve  in 
its  entirety  is  established  and  a  comprehensive  plan 
can  be  formulated. 


390  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

In  1897,  legislation,  providing  for  an  increase  of 
the  state  forest  preserve,  was  passed  by  instituting 
the  Forest  Preserve  Board,  whose  function  it  is  to 
purchase  lands  with  appropriations  made  from 
time  to  time.  Nearly  $2,000,000  have  been  spent 
on  such  purchases,  and  the  preserve  now  contains 
over  1,250,000  acres,  which,  if  properly  adminis- 
tered under  forest  management,  should  at  least  pro- 
duce the  amount  of  about  $150,000  annually  for 
supporting  the  Forest,  Fish,  and  Game  Commission. 

The  state  of  New  York  was  the  first  to  inau- 
gurate this  forest  reservation  poHcy  (even  before 
the  federal  government),  as  well  as  the  first  com- 
prehensive effective  forest  fire  law,  with  an  organ- 
ization for  its  execution,  and  furthermore  took  the 
first  steps  to  provide  for  the  technical  education 
of  foresters,  by  estabhshing  in  1898  the  New  York 
State  College  of  Forestry,  to  be  administered  by 
Cornell  University,  together  with  a  demonstration 
forest  of  30,000  acres,  located  in  the  Adirondacks. 
The  demonstration  area  was  designed  to  give  a 
practical  object  lesson  of  the  manner  in  which  a 
forest  may  be  managed  for  reproduction  and  for 
profit;  the  college,  to  educate  the  foresters,  who 
may  eventually  become  the  technical  advisers  for 
the  management  of  the  forest  preserve.  A  four 
years'  course,  leading  to  the  degree  of  Forest 
Engineer,  as  full  and  complete  as  any  of  the 
European  forestry  schools,  is  offered.  During  the 
first   four   years  of   its    existence,  the  number  of 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    391 

Students  has  increased  to  65  (fall,  1902),  and  the 
18  graduates  and  special  students,  who  have  been 
sent  out  from  this  first  professional  school,  have 
found  ready  employment  in  the  federal  and  state 
service  or  with  private  employers. 

The  state  which,  next  to  New  York,  has  most 
progressed  in  the  direction  of  a  forest  policy  is 
Pennsylvania.  Through  the  efforts  of  the  State 
Forestry  Association,  a  commission  of  inquiry  was 
first  created  in  1893,  and  before  its  report  was 
published,  in  1895,  provision  was  also  made  for  a 
commissioner  of  forestry  as  an  organic  division  of 
the  newly  created  department  of  agriculture. 
Through  the  effort  of  the  commissioner,  Dr.  Roth- 
rock,  important  legislation  was  had  in  1897,  and 
in  1 90 1  the  division  became  a  separate  depart- 
ment of  forestry,  and  a  state  forest  reservation 
commission  was  created. 

The  most  important  legislation  of  1897,  besides 
improving  the  forest  fire  laws,  and  relieving  forest- 
lands  under  certain  conditions  from  taxation  (see 
p.  247),  is  that  "  authorizing  the  purchase  by  the 
Commonwealth  of  unseated  lands  for  the  nonpay- 
ment of  taxes,  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  state 
forest  reservation,"  and  another  act,  providing  for 
the  immediate  establishment  of  three  definite  reser- 
vations in  the  three  large  drainage  areas  of  the  state. 
Under  these  acts,  some  400,000  acres  have  been 
reserved.  A  second  state  had  recognized  the 
propriety  of  state  forests. 


392  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

The  third  state  fallmg  in  line  is  Michigan.  It 
began  in  1887  by  constituting  the  State  Board  of 
Agriculture  a  forestry  commission  of  inquiry,  but 
the  report  of  the  commission,  published  in  1888, 
remained  without  immediate  effect.  In  1899,  a 
permanent  forestry  commission  of  three  was  ap- 
pointed, whose  duty  was  in  the  first  place  also 
merely  one  of  inquiry,  with  the  requirement  to 
submit  in  1901  a  bill  "to  carry  out  the  objects 
for  which  this  commission  is  appointed,"  but  also 
empowering  the  commission  to  have  withdrawn 
from  sale,  temporarily,  200,000  acres  of  "  state  tax 
homestead  lands  and  swamplands  belonging  to  the 
state,"  and  to  receive  from  private  owners  dona- 
tions of  land.  The  commission  presented  a  most 
admirable  bill  to  carry  out  the  forest  reservation 
policy,  but  the  bill  was  defeated,  largely  through 
the  farming  element.  Nevertheless,  the  commis- 
sion secured  a  forest  reservation  of  70,000  acres, 
and  the  progress  of  this  policy  is  well  assured, 
although  progress  will  probably  be  slow  on  ac- 
count of  ignorant  or  selfish  obstructionists. 

In  Minnesota  a  law  was  enacted  in  1901,  setting 
aside  as  a  state  forest  reserve  all  lands  unfit  for 
agriculture  that  reverted  to  the  state  through 
delinquent  taxes  before  1891  ;  but  legislation,  hav- 
ing in  view  the  creation  of  forest  boards  and  forest 
reserve  areas  under  rather  unique  conditions, 
which  was  introduced  in  the  legislature  in  1897, 
failed  to  become  law. 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    393 

In  consequence  of  the  terrible  warning  by  the 
forest  fires  of  1894,  which  destroyed  nearly  three 
quarter  million  dollars'  worth  of  property,  and  sev- 
eral hundred  lives,  Minnesota  created  the  office  of 
chief  fire  warden,  acting  under  the  state  auditor 
as  forest  commissioner,  in  charge  of  an  organized 
service  to  combat  forest  fires.  The  chief  fire  war- 
den is  also  required  to  furnish  annual  reports,  with 
suggestions  relative  to  the  preservation  of  forests 
and  the  prevention  of  forest  fires.  The  four  or 
five  reports  issued,  show  that  the  protective  ser- 
vice is  tolerably  effective  in  spite  of  deficient  ap- 
propriations, and  the  fact  that  the  questions  of 
forestry  are  systematically  kept  before  the  pub- 
lic is  bound  to  result  sooner  or  later  in  more  com- 
prehensive action. 

The  third  of  the  three  great  lumber  states,  IVi's- 
consin^  was  also  scared  by  the  forest  fires  of  1894 
into  enacting  a  forest  fire  law,  similar  to  the  Min- 
nesota law,  which  followed  the  principles  of  organ- 
ization first  inaugurated  in  the  New  York  law  of 
1885.  Here  the  chief  clerk  of  the  state  land 
office,  and  his  deputy,  were  made  forest  wardens 
without  additional  salary.  Towns  are  limited  to 
$100  per  year  expenditure  in  extinguishing  fires. 
It  is  easy  to  judge  what  the  efficiency  of  such  ser- 
vice may  be.  An  attempt,  through  a  commission 
of  inquiry  created  in  1897,  to  commit  the  state 
further  has  so  far  failed. 

In  the  first  year  of  the  new  century,  two  other 


394  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

states  recognized  their  responsibility,  namely  In- 
diana and  Connecticut.  Indiana  entered  the  list 
of  states  with  a  forest  policy  by  the  establishment 
of  a  state  board  of  forestry  and  the  enactment 
of  a  law  exempting  certain  forest  lands  from  tax- 
ation (see  p.  246).  Connecticut  appointed  a  state 
forester  under  the  board  of  control  of  the  Agricul- 
tural Experiment  Station,  and  enacted  a  law  "con- 
cerning reforestation  of  barren  lands,"  making  a 
small  appropriation  for  the  purchase  and  planting 
of  such  lands. 

A  few  other  states  show  feeble  beginnings,  some 
dating  back  a  long  time,  without  visible  progress. 

In  Newjersey,  North  Carolina,  and  West  Virginia 
the  state  geological  surveys  have  had  the  forestry 
interests  in  charge  for  several  years,  publishing 
from  time  to  time  useful  information,  A  well-de- 
vised bill  providing  for  a  forest  commission  and 
state  forest  reserve  failed  of  passage  in  the  legis- 
lature of  West  Virginia  in  1897. 

In  Ohio'3.  forestry  bureau  was  instituted  in  1885, 
its  functions  being  of  an  educational  and  advisory 
nature.  It  published  four  or  five  annual  reports 
containing  information  on  a  variety  of  subjects, 
but  for  a  number  of  years  these  reports,  and  prob- 
ably the  bureau,  have  been  discontinued. 

In  North  Dakota  the  office  of  commissioner  of 
irrigation  and  forestry  was  created  in  1890,  seem- 
ingly mainly  for  educational  purposes.  In  Kansas 
for  some  time  the  educational  campaign  for  timber- 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.  395 

planting  of  the  State  Horticultural  Society  was 
supplemented  by  the  state  in  the  establishment 
of  two  experimental  tree  stations,  from  which  plant 
material  is  distributed  to  intending  planters  through 
a  forest  commissioner. 

The  state  of  Colorado  was  the  first  to  recognize 
in  her  constitution  the  existence  of  a  duty  on  the 
part  of  the  government  with  regard  to  her  forestry 
interests. 

Article  XVIII  of  the  constitution,  adopted  in 
convention  March  14,  1876,  contains  the  follow- 
ing clauses :  — 

"  Sec.  6.  The  general  assembly  shall  enact  laws 
in  order  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  and  to  keep 
in  good  preservation  the  forests  upon  the  lands  of 
the  State  or  upon  lands  of  the  public  domain,  the 
control  of  which  shall  be  conferred  by  Congress 
upon  the  State. 

"  Sec.  7.  The  general  assembly  may  provide 
that  the  increase  in  the  value  of  private  lands 
caused  by  the  planting  of  hedges,  orchards,  and 
forests  thereon  shall  not,  for  a  limited  time,  to  be 
fixed  by  law,  be  taken  into  account  in  assessing 
such  lands  for  taxation." 

The  constitutional  convention  also  presented  a 
memorial  to  congress  asking  for  the  transfer  of 
the  public  timber  lands  in  the  then  territory  to 
the  care  and  custody  of  the  state,  which  remained, 
however,  without  attention. 

The  intentions  of  the  constitution  to  take  care 


396  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

of  the  forestry  interests  of  the  state  were,  how- 
ever, not  carried  into  effect  until  1885,  when  a  law 
was  passed  creating  the  office  of  a  forest  commis- 
sioner and  constituting  the  county  commissioners 
and  road  overseers  throughout  the  state,  forest 
officers  in  their  respective  localities,  to  act  as  a 
police  force  in  preventing  depredation  and  fire,  and 
to  encourage  and  promote  forest  culture.  But  the 
provisions  to  carry  out  this  laudable  work  were 
from  the  start  insufficient,  and  the  office  of  forest 
commissioner  finally  remaining  without  a  salary 
became  vacant,  the  law  ineffective.  A  new  de- 
parture, however,  was  made  in  1897.  I^  that  year 
a  department  of  forestry,  game,  and  fish  was 
created.  The  salaried  officers  provided  are  a  com- 
missioner and  three  wardens,  and  the  commissioner 
may  appoint  deputy  wardens  without  pay.  Section 
9  of  the  law  provides  that  — 

"  Said  commissioner  shall,  as  much  as  possible, 
promote  the  growth  and  extension  of  the  forest 
areas  of  the  state,  and  encourage  the  planting  of 
trees  and  the  preservation  of  the  sources  of  water 
supply,  but  nothing  in  this  act  contained  shall 
authorize  the  commissioner  to  interfere  with  the 
use  of  timber  for  domestic,  mining,  or  agricultural 
purposes,  in  accordance  with  existing  laws.  He 
shall  have  the  care  of  all  woodlands  and  forests 
which  may  at  any  time  be  controlled  by  the  state, 
and  shall  cause  all  such  lands  to  be  located  and 
recorded  in  a  book  to  be  kept  for  the  purpose." 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    397 

Section  10  prohibits  the  appointment  to  any 
office  created  by  this  act  of  any  person  directly  or 
indirectly  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber, 
railroad  ties,  telegraph  poles,  or  any  business  re- 
quiring a  large  use  of  wood.  The  law  makes  it  a 
misdemeanor  to  cause  fires  to  be  set  without  a 
guard,  or  to  cut  coniferous  timber  from  public  or 
state  lands  for  shipment  outside  the  state.  The 
remainder  of  the  law  provides  for  the  protection  of 
fish  and  game. 

California  began  its  course  for  the  establishment 
of  a  forest  policy  in  the  most  promising  manner 
in  1885  by  creating  a  state  board  of  forestry.  At 
first  it  was  mainly  a  commission  of  inquiry  with 
educational  functions ;  police  powers  were  con- 
ferred upon  it  in  1887  "for  the  purpose  of  making 
arrests  for  any  violation  of  any  law  applying  to 
forest  and  brush  lands  within  the  State,  or  pro- 
hibiting the  destruction  thereof,"  with  an  appropri- 
ation of  $30,000  for  the  two  years  following,  but 
by  1 89 1  political  complications  and  perversion  of 
the  moneys  appropriated  undid  the  good  work  of 
the  first  board,  and  the  ofiEice,  as  well  as  the  func- 
tions, were  abolished.  Besides  three  valuable 
reports  on  the  forest  conditions  and  forest  trees 
of  the  state,  the  board  left  as  an  inheritance  two 
experiment  stations,  where  exotic  trees  are  being 
tested,  now  under  charge  of  the  University  of 
California.  Lately  the  state  appropriated  $250,000 
to    purchase  the  remnant  of  the  great   Redwood 


398  ECONOMICS   OF   FORESTRY. 

forest  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains  for  a  public 
park ;  such  reservation,  however,  is  only  distantly 
and  indirectly  a  part  of  forest  policy. 

We  have  again  and  again  referred  to  the  first 
and  foremost  obligation  of  the  state  and  the  most 
urgent  and  important  need  of  reform  in  the  treat- 
ment of  our  woodlands,  namely  protection  against 
fires.  There  is  so  far  no  state  as  yet  fully  doing 
its  duty  in  this  direction,  although  tolerably  effec- 
tive beginnings  have  been  made  in  several  states. 
The  first  comprehensive  forest  fire  law,  drafted 
by  the  writer,  was  enacted  in  New  York  in  1885 
in  connection  with  the  establishment  of  a  forest 
commission.  This  law  for  the  first  time  recognized 
the  need  of  officers  responsible  for  the  execution 
of  the  law  and  of  a  well-organized  army  of  fire 
wardens  throughout  the  state.  The  states  of 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Pennsylvania,  Wisconsin, 
and  Minnesota  followed,  with  some  modifications, 
this  example  of  New  York.  The  most  complete 
forest  fire  law  is  probably  that  of  Minnesota, 
enacted  in  1895,  which  is,  like  the  others,  however, 
only  partially  effective  on  account  of  deficient 
appropriations  and  limited  functions  of  the  com- 
missioner or  fire  warden.^ 

It  would  appear  from  all  experience  now  accu- 
mulated by  the  officers  in  charge  of  the  execution 

1  For  a  full  discussion  of  this  phase  of  forest  policy,  with  reprint 
of  the  Minnesota  law,  see  II.  R.  Doc.  No.  i8i,  55th  Cong.  3d 
sess.  pp.  183-189. 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.     399 

of  this  law,  that  the  reduction  in  forest  fires  is 
largely  a  matter  of  education  and  the  development 
of  morals,  which  must  come  in  time.  Moreover, 
when  real  forestry  is  begun,  when  waste  lands  are 
not  any  more  abandoned  as  useless,  but  planted  to 
valuable  timber,  when  forest  properties  are  really 
managed  for  continuity,  in  short,  when  forestry  is 
practised,  both  the  necessity  and  the  desire  for 
careful  protection  of  a  valuable  piece  of  property 
will  bring  about  a  cessation  of  incendiarism  ;  and 
the  practice  of  forestry  will  soon  come,  when  edu- 
cated foresters  can  be  had  to  practise  it. 

For  the  education  of  such,  provision  is  being  rap- 
idly made  by  the  establishment  of  special  forestry 
schools  or  of  courses  in  forestry  in  existing  institu- 
tions. Here  again  the  state  of  New  York  recog- 
nized its  educational  function  by  establishing,  in 
1898,  the  State  College  of  Forestry  at  Cornell 
University.  With  the  establishment  of  this  first 
professional  forestry  school,  we  may  say  that  the 
art  of  forestry  was  removed  from  the  mere  field  of 
discussion,  and  engrafted  on  our  educational  sys- 
tem, insuring  a  new  era  for  rational  forestry 
methods. 

In  the  following  year,  Yale  University  estab- 
lished such  a  school,  and  a  private  school  was 
established  about  the  same  time  on  the  Vanderbilt 
estate  at  Biltmore,  N.  C.  Before  this  time  and 
since,  the  land-grant  colleges  of  several  states  had 
introduced  at  least  courses  on  subjects  touching 


400  ECONOMICS    OF    FORESTRY. 

on  forestry,  without  attempting  professional  train- 
ing, the  object  being  mainly  to  give  a  general  idea 
of  the  natural  history  of  forest  growth  and  the  mean- 
ing and  importance  of  forestry,  and  promoting 
public  interest  in  forest  protection  and  silviculture. 
Within  a  few  years,  however,  it  is  to  be  expected 
that  professional  courses  will  exist  in  many  of 
these  institutions,  and  the  flood  of  education  will 
pour  its  beneficent  influence  over  our  neglected 
woodlands. 

A  sufficient  number  of  professionally  educated 
foresters,  it  appears,  have  gone  forth  from  these 
schools  and  are  now  at  work  in  the  United  States 
(including  the  Philippines)  to  justify  the  pubhcation 
of  the  first  professional  journal,  the  Forestry  Quar- 
terly, which  made  its  appearance  in  the  fall  of 
1902,  published  by  students,  alumni,  and  faculty  of 
the  New  York  State  College  of  Forestry, 

In  this  connection  we  should  perhaps  make  also 
special  mention  of  the  effort  of  Berea  College  in 
Kentucky  to  furnish  instruction  in  forestry  to  a 
class  of  rangers.  Indeed,  there  is  now  more  need 
to  provide  for  this  class  of  instruction,  to  rangers, 
logging  bosses,  under-foresters,  etc.,  than  for  a 
multiplication  of  higher  grade  schools,  nevertheless 
the  latter  is  evidently  contemplated  by  a  number 
of  colleges. 

In  all  these  movements  throughout  the  states, 
the  efforts  of  the  American  Forestry  Association 
and  of   the  state  associations  may  be  recognized, 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    40I 

and  the  actions  of  the  federal  government  no  doubt 
had  also  an  indirect  educational  influence. 

With  the  establishment  of  the  Division  of  For- 
estry in  the  United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture (1876-188 5)  an  official  centre  was  created  for 
supporting  the  forestry  movement,  and  through  the 
organization  of  the  American  Forestry  Congress 
(changed  later  to  American  Forestry  Association), 
in  which  the  officers  of  the  Division  of  Forestry 
naturally  took  a  leading  part,  the  sphere  of  in- 
fluence was  greatly  enlarged.  These  two  agencies 
have  moulded  public  opinion  through  the  past 
twenty  or  twenty-five  years  and  brought  about 
the  interest  now  taken  in  forestry  matters.  The 
history  of  the  establishment  of  these  two  agencies 
may  be  read  in  the  repeatedly  cited  public  docu- 
ment (H.  R.  Doc.  No.  181,  55th  Cong.  3d  sess.) 
and  in  the  publications  of  the  American  Forestry 
Association. 

The  main  tangible  result  of  the  educational  cam- 
paign of  these  agencies  for  a  federal  policy  was  the 
inauguration  of  the  forest  reservation  policy. 

The  first  suggestion  of  such  a  policy  appeared 
in  1876  with  a  bill  (H.  R.  No.  2075)  "for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  forests  adjacent  to  the  sources  of 
navigable  rivers  and  other  streams,"  which  never 
progressed  farther  than  the  pigeonhole  of  the 
Public  Lands  Committee. 

Similar  bills,  introduced  from  time  to  time, 
experienced   the  same  fate  in  the  same  or  other 

2D 


402  ECONOMICS    OP^   FORESTRY. 

committees,  until  more  definite  reservations  were 
called  for.  An  act  to  establish  a  forest  reserva- 
tion on  the  head  waters  of  the  Missouri  and 
Columbia  rivers  passed  the  Senate  in  1884,  and 
again  in  1885,  but  died  in  the  House  Committee; 
in  the  same  year  a  general  act  providing  for  forest 
reservations  was  reported  favorably  in  the  House. 
After  this,  hardly  a  year  passed  without  a  number 
of  legislative  propositions  to  the  same  effect  being 
introduced,  the  titles  of  the  bills  filling  several 
quarto  pages  of  the  above-cited  document. 

Hardly  any  kind  of  legislation  which  could  be 
suggested  was  overlooked,  from  the  creation  of 
forest  commissions  to  investigate  the  subject  to 
providing  for  fully  organized  forest  administra- 
tions and  the  establishment  of  forestry  schools. 

The  American  Forestry  Association  presented 
a  comprehensive  bill  drawn  by  the  Chief  of  the 
Forestry  Division  in  1888,  providing  for  the  with- 
drawal from  entry  or  sale  of  all  public  timber  lands 
not  fit  for  agricultural  use,  and  for  their  proper 
administration  under  technical  advice.  (S.  1476 
and  S.   1779,   50th  Cong,    ist  sess.) 

Modifications  of  this  bill  were  introduced  from 
year  to  year,  and  their  enactment  urged  with  small 
success. 

Finally,  in  the  Fifty-first  Congress,  through  the 
earnest  insistence  of  Secretary  of  the  Interior  John 
W.  Noble,  who  was  fully  imbued  with  the  necessity 
of  some  action  such  as  was  advocated  by  the  asso- 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    403 

elation,  the  following  section  was  added  to  the  act 
entitled  "  An  act  to  repeal  timber  culture  laws,  and 
for  other  purposes,"  approved  March  3,  1891  :  — 

"Sec.  24.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States 
may,  from  time  to  time,  set  apart  and  reserve,  in 
any  State  or  Territory  having  public  lands  bearing 
forests,  any  part  of  the  public  lands  wholly  or  in 
part  covered  with  timber  or  undergrowth,  whether 
of  commercial  value  or  not,  as  pubhc  reservations, 
and  the  President  shall,  by  public  proclamation, 
declare  the  establishment  of  such  reservations  and 
the  limits  thereof." 

It  is  upon  this  feeble  "  rider,"  attached  to  a  bill 
hardly  germane  to  the  subject,  that  the  forest 
reservation  policy  of  the  federal  government  is 
based,  that  the  federal  land  policy,  which  before 
considered  only  disposal  of  the  public  domain, 
was  changed,  the  government  becoming  a  land- 
owner for  continuity. 

Acting  upon  this  authority.  Presidents  Cleveland 
and  Harrison  established  seventeen  forest  reser- 
vations, with  a  total  estimated  area  of  17,500,000 
acres  previous  to  1894. 

The  reservations  were  established  usually  upon 
the  petition  of  citizens  residing  in  the  respective 
states  and  after  due  examination,  the  forestry 
association  acting  as  intermediary. 

Meanwhile  the  legislation  devised  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  forest  reserves,  existing  or  to 
be   established  (H.    R.    119),   specially    urged   by 


404       ECONOMICS  OF  FORESTRY. 

Representative  McRae,  chairman  of  Public  Lands 
Committee,  failed  to  be  enacted,  although  in  the 
Fifty-third  Congress  it  was  passed  by  both  Houses, 
but  failed  in  conference.  Forest  reservation  with- 
out forest  administration  threatened  to  make  the 
whole  policy  unpopular. 

Urged  by  the  committee  of  the  Forestry  Associa- 
tion, which  hoped  to  secure  thereby  potent  influence 
for  the  proposed  legislation.  Secretary  Hoke  Smith, 
of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  impressed  with 
the  importance  of  devising  some  adequate  system 
of  protection  and  management  of  the  forests,  both 
within  the  reserves  and  in  the  public  domain,  under 
date  of  February  15,  1896,  requested  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  the  legally  constituted 
adviser  of  the  government  in  scientific  matters,  to 
investigate  and  report  "  upon  the  inauguration  of 
a  rational  forest  policy  for  the  forested  lands  of 
the  United  States." 

Under  date  of  February  i,  1897,  the  academy 
submitted  to  Secretary  Francis  a  preliminary 
report  recommending  the  creation  of  thirteen 
additional  forest  reserves  with  a  total  area  of 
21,379,840  acres.  These  reserves  were  proclaimed 
as  recommended,  without  examination,  by  President 
Cleveland,  February  22,  1897.  On  May  i,  1897, 
the  president  of  the  academy  submitted  his  com- 
plete report  (Senate  Doc.  No.  105),  recommending 
substantially  the  legislation  so  long  urged  by  the 
Forestry  Association. 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    405 

A  storm  of  indignation  broke  out  in  Congress 
over  the  precipitate  action  of  the  President,  the 
repeal  of  the  entire  forest  reservation  policy  was 
demanded  by  the  Western  senators  and  represen- 
tatives, who  felt  insulted  by  the  lack  of  consid- 
eration, and  the  laboriously  achieved  first  step 
threatened  to  be  lost.  A  compromise  was,  how- 
ever, effected. 

The  sundry  civil  appropriation  bill  passed  June  4, 
1897  (see  Senate  Doc.  No.  102),  set  aside  only  the 
proclamations  of  February  22,  1897,  suspending  the 
reservations  which  were  made  upon  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  committee  of  the  academy  until  March  i, 
1898,  presumably  to  give  time  for  the  adjustment 
of  private  claims  and  to  more  carefully  delimit  the 
reservations.  For  this  purpose  an  appropriation 
of  $150,000  to  survey  the  reservations  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Director  of  the  Geological  Sur- 
vey was  made.  The  provisos  attached  to  this  ap- 
propriation embody  the  most  important  forestry 
legislation  thus  far  enacted  by  Congress.  These 
provisos  had  been  in  the  main  formulated  in  the 
above-cited  bill  known  as  the  McRae  Bill,  which 
was  passed  by  the  House  of  Representatives  and 
the  Senate  of  the  Fifty-third  Congress  —  without, 
however,  becoming  a  law ;  and  again  had  passed 
the  House  in  the  Fifty-fourth  Congress,  it  being 
the  legislation  advocated  by  the  American  For- 
estry Association  as  a  first  step  toward  a  more 
elaborate  forest  administration  of  the  public  tim- 


406  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

ber  lands.  Excluding  minor  items,  the  law  pro- 
vides that  — 

"All  public  lands  heretofore  designated  and 
reserved  by  the  President  of  the  United  States 
under  the  provisions  of  the  act  approved  March 
third,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-one,  the  orders 
for  which  shall  be  and  remain  in  force  and  effect, 
unsuspended  and  unrevoked,  and  all  public  lands 
that  may  hereafter  be  set  aside  and  reserved  as 
public  forest  reserves  under  said  act,  shall  be  as 
far  as  practicable  controlled  and  administered  in 
accordance  with  the  following  provisions  :  — 

" '  No  pubhc  forest  reservation  shall  be  estab- 
lished, except  to  improve  and  protect  the  forest 
within  the  reservation,  or  for  the  purpose  of  secur- 
ing favorable  conditions  of  water  flow,  and  to 
furnish  a  continuous  supply  of  timber  for  the  use 
and  necessities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States ; 
but  it  is  not  the  purpose  or  intent  of  these  pro- 
visions or  of  the  act  providing  for  such  reserva- 
tions to  authorize  the  inclusion  therein  of  lands 
more  valuable  for  the  mineral  therein  or  for  agri- 
cultural purposes  than  for  forest  purposes. 

"  '  For  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  living  and 
growing  timber  and  promoting  the  younger  growth 
on  forest  reservations,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  he  shall  pre- 
scribe, may  cause  to  be  designated  and  appraised 
so  much  of  the  dead,  matured,  or  large  growth  of 
trees  found  on  such  forest  reservations  as  may  be 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    407 

compatible  with  the  proper  utilization  of  the  forests 
thereon,  and  may  sell  the  same  for  not  less  than 
the  appraised  value  in  such  quantities  to  each  pur- 
chaser as  he  shall  prescribe,  to  be  used  in  the 
State  or  Territory  in  which  such  timber  reserva- 
tion may  be  situated,  respectively,  but  not  for 
export  therefrom.  Before  such  sale  shall  take 
place,  notice  thereof  shall  be  given  by  the  Com- 
missioner of  the  General  Land  Office  for  not  less 
than  sixty  days,  by  publication  in  a  newspaper  of 
general  circulation,  published  in  the  county  in 
which  the  timber  is  situated,  if  any  is  therein  pub- 
lished, and  if  not,  then  in  a  newspaper  of  general 
circulation  published  nearest  to  the  reservation, 
and  also  in  a  newspaper  of  general  circulation 
published  at  the  capital  of  the  State  or  Territory 
where  such  reservation  exists ;  payments  for  such 
timber  to  be  made  to  the  receiver  of  the  local  land 
office  of  the  district  wherein  said  timber  may  be 
sold,  under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior  may  prescribe ;  and  the 
moneys  arising  therefrom  shall  be  accounted  for 
by  the  receiver  of  such  land  office  to  the  Com- 
missioner of  the  General  Land  Office  in  a  separate 
account,  and  shall  be  covered  into  the  Treasury. 
Such  timber,  before  being  sold,  shall  be  marked 
and  designated,  and  shall  be  cut  and  removed 
under  the  supervision  of  some  person  appointed 
for  that  purpose  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
not  interested  in  the  purchase  or  removal  of  such 


408  ECONOMICS   OF    FORESTRY. 

timber  nor  in  the  employment  of  the  purchaser 
thereof.  Such  supervisor  shall  make  a  report  in 
writing  to  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office  and  to  the  receiver  in  the  land  office  in 
which  such  reservation  shall  be  located  of  his 
doings  in  the  premises. 

"  '  Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior,  with  the  approval  of  the  President, 
after  sixty  days'  notice  thereof,  published  in  two 
papers  of  general  circulation  in  the  State  or  Terri- 
tory wherein  any  forest  reservation  is  situated  and 
near  the  said  reservation,  any  public  lands  em- 
braced within  the  limits  of  any  forest  reservation 
which,  after  due  examination  by  personal  inspec- 
tion of  a  competent  person  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  shall  be 
found  better  adapted  for  mining  or  for  agricultural 
purposes  than  for  forest  usage,  may  be  restored  to 
the  public  domain.  And  any  mineral  lands  in  any 
forest  reservation  which  have  been  or  which  may 
be  shown  to  be  such,  and  subject  to  entry  under 
the  existing  mining  laws  of  the  United  States  and 
the  rules  and  regulations  applying  thereto,  shall 
continue  to  be  subject  to  such  location  and  entry, 
notwithstanding  any  provisions  herein  contained.'  " 

The  law  authorizes  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
to  permit  the  use  of  timber  and  stone  by  bona-fide 
settlers,  miners,  etc.,  for  fire  wood,  fencing,  build- 
ings, mining,  prospecting,  and  other  domestic 
purposes.     It  protects  the  rights  of  actual  settlers 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    409 

within  the  reservations,  empowers  them  to  build 
wagon-roads  to  their  holdings,  enables  them  to 
build  schools  and  churches,  and  provides  for  the 
exchange  of  such  for  allotments  outside  the  reser- 
vation Hmits.  The  state  within  which  a  reserva- 
tion is  located  maintains  its  jurisdiction  over  all 
persons  within  the  boundaries  of  the  reserve. 

Under  the  above  enactment,  the  commissioner 
of  the  General  Land  Office  has  formulated  rules 
and  regulations  for  the  forest  reservations,  and  a 
survey  of  the  reserves  is  being  made  by  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey,  the  appropriations  for 
such  a  survey  having  been  continued  from  year 
to  year,  and  the  date  for  the  segregation  of  agri- 
cultural lands  and  their  return  to  the  public  domain 
open  for  entry  having  been  deferred. 

The  appointment  of  forest  superintendents,  ran- 
gers, etc.,  although  not  with  technical  knowledge,  to 
take  charge  of  the  reservations  marks  the  beginning 
of  a  settled  policy  of  the  United  States  Government 
to  take  care  of  its  long-neglected  forest  lands. 

Gradually  the  people  of  the  Western  states,  who 
were  opposed  to  the  reservation  policy,  believing 
it  an  interference  of  their  rights  and  an  impedi- 
ment to  settlement,  have  learned  to  appreciate  the 
wisdom  and  the  object  of  the  reservations,  espe- 
cially in  the  irrigation  districts.  Annually  new 
areas  are  being  reserved  and  the  administrative 
features  developed.  At  present  writing  there  are 
set  aside  58,850,000  acres  in  56  reservations,  in- 


4IO  ECONOMICS    OF   FORESTRY. 

eluding  two  in  Alaska,  varying  in  size  from  a  few 
thousand  to  several  million  acres. 

The  administration  of  these  reserves  is  still  of 
the  crudest  kind,  and  forestry  practice  is  as  yet 
hardly  attempted.  In  fact,  the  organization  of  the 
forestry  service  is  still  in  embryonic  condition. 
The  administration  of  the  reserves  lies  with  the 
Department  of  the  Interior,  through  a  Forestry 
Division,  under  the  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office.  Meanwhile  the  technical  knowledge 
is  gradually  developed  in  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture. 

The  Forestry  Division  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  dignified  by  being  elevated  to  a 
bureau  in  1901,  is  still  without  administrative 
function  and  occupies  only  an  advisory  position. 
But  by  an  increase  in  appropriations  ($146,280 
for  the  year  1902)  it  has  been  able  to  extend  its 
field  considerably.  It  makes  so-called  working 
plans  for  the  timber  lands  of  private  forest  owners 
and  planting  plans,  and  investigates  forest  condi- 
tions, rates  of  growth,  and  other  matters  of  in- 
terest, as  before,  only  on  an  extended  scale.  It 
should,  of  course,  be  in  charge  of  the  public  forest 
reservations,  and  introduce  such  technical  manage- 
ment of  the  same  as  the  case  may  permit. 

To  add  to  the  curiosities  and  incongruities  of  the 
situation  a  third  agency,  the  Geological  Survey,  has 
in  charge  the  survey  and  description  of  the  forest 
reservations  with  a  view  of  delimiting  the  areas  to 


FORESTRY  MOVEMENT  IN  UNITED  STATES.    411 

be  kept  permanently  as  such.  We  have,  then,  three 
government  offices,  organically  disconnected,  albeit 
working  in  harmony  as  far  as  possible,  intrusted 
with  the  forestry  interests  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment. It  is  hoped  that  only  a  short  time  will  elapse 
before  logic  will  have  its  day,  unity  will  be  estab- 
lished, and  a  forest  administration  under  the  Bureau 
of  Forestry  will  be  inaugurated. 

Curiously,  too,  we  find  that  in  one  of  our  outlying 
possessions,  the  Philippine  Islands,  we  are  farther 
progressed  in  establishing  a  proper  forest  policy 
than  at  home.  Here  the  Spanish  Government  had 
long  ago  established  a  forestry  bureau  to  super- 
intend the  exploitation  of  the  public  timber  lands. 
The  United  States  fell  heir  to  the  lands,  some  20 
or  30  million  acres,  and  to  the  bureau.  By  good 
fortune  the  administration  of  this  bureau  came  into 
the  hands  of  an  army  officer  who  had  for  some 
years  interested  himself  in  the  forestry  question, 
and  under  his  efficient  guidance  the  management 
of  this  part  of  the  public  domain  promises  soon  to 
be  on  a  rational  basis. 

We  see  then  that  the  Federal  Government  has 
made  a  fair  beginning  toward  establishing  a  definite 
forest  policy,  that  a  few  states  have  also  entered 
upon  more  or  less  definite  plans  to  advance  a  state 
policy  or  secure  private  interest,  and  that  the  num- 
ber of  private  owners  who  contemplate  the  advisa- 
bility of  practising  forestry  on  their  properties  is 
rapidly  growing. 


D.  H.  HILL  L»BRARY 


APPENDIK 


APPENDIX. 

NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   I. 

Page  6.  Referring  to  Dearth  of  English  Literature  on  Econ- 
omy of  Resources.  —  The  conceptions  and  ideas  contained  in 
this  chapter  regarding  the  classification  of  natural  resources 
and  the  relation  of  the  state  to  them  were  first  formulated  by 
the  writer  in  his  Vice-Presidential  Address  before  the  Section 
of  Economic  Science  of  the  Association  for  the  Advancement 
of  Science,  entitled  "The  Providential  Functions  of  Govern- 
ment, with  Special  Reference  to  Natural  Resources,"  and 
printed  in  the  volume  of  Proceedings  for  1895.  The  econom- 
ics of  natural  resources  have  received  only  incidental  and 
scanty  consideration  by  English  writers.  The  only  publica- 
tion known  to  the  writer  which  discusses  the  subject  in  a 
broad  manner  is  by  G.  P.  Osborne,  "  Principles  of  Eco- 
nomics." The  satisfaction  of  human  wants  in  so  far  as  their 
satisfaction  depends  on  material  resources.    Cincinnati.    1893. 

P.  9.  —  The  fact  that  "  emotion  rather  than  reason,  senti- 
ment rather  than  argument,  are  the  prime  movers  of  society  " 
has  been  most  forcibly  and  convincingly  argued  by  Lester  F. 
Ward  in  his  "  Psychic  Factors  of  Civilization"  and  "  Dynamic 
Sociology." 

P.  16.  Eminent  Domain.  —  In  all  modern  states  the  right 
of  eminent  domain  {domrniujn  emineiis),  i.e.  the  right  of  the 
state  to  dispossess  private  owners  or  to  restrict  them  in  the 
use  of  their  property  for  the  sake  of  the  common  weal,  and 
for  public  purposes,  is  well  established.  At  first  exercised 
only  by  specific  legislation  in  individual  cases,  since  the  end 
of  the  eighteenth  century  the  right  of  eminent  domain  has 
415 


4l6  APPENDIX. 

become  a  matter  of  constitutional  provision  and  of  genera, 
legislation.  The  modern  legislation  also  fully  recognizes  the 
right  of  the  owner  to  adequate  compensation  and  provides 
methods  of  procedure. 

In  the  United  States  the  taking  of  land  /;/  invitiim  and  the 
manner  of  ascertaining  and  securing  the  compensation  is  pro- 
vided for  in  the  statutes  of  each  state.  This  right  of  eminent 
domain  has  been  most  frequently  exercised  for  the  purpose 
of  roads,  railroads,  cartals,  bridges,  etc.,  for  the  reason  that, 
although  these  uses  of  land  are  usually  accompanied  by 
profits  to  individuals,  they  are  primarily  to  serve  a  public 
use.  There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  the  same  right 
should  not  be  extended  in  favor  of  other  public  utilities,  like 
forests. 

The  decision  as  to  the  public  necessity  of  its  exercise  is  in 
the  United  States,  as  in  England,  left  to  the  courts,  and  the 
determination  of  the  award  for  damage  to  a  jury.  In  Germany 
these  decisions  lie  with  the  administration.  The  exercise  of 
eminent  domain  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  protection  of 
forest  cover,  as  practised  by  European  states,  is  discussed  in 
Chapters  X  and  XI. 


NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   II. 

P.  21.  Necessity  of  Wood  Materials.  —  The  necessity  of 
wood  for  civilization,  together  with  the  constant  increase  in 
its  use  as  industrial  activity  increases,  is  perhaps  best  illus- 
trated by  the  statistics  of  imports  of  wood  in  European  coun- 
tries, which  show  the  most  remarkable  increase  of  per  capita 
consumption  due  to  industrial  development. 

In  Great  Britain,  a  country  which  supplies  itself  almost 
entirely  by  importation,  and  hence  uses  wood  probably  least 
wastefully,  during  the  decade  1856-66  the  import  was  148 
million  cubic  feet;  during  the  following  decade  it  had  grown 
more  than  60  per  cent,  namely,  to  244  million  feet.     During 


NOTES. 


417 


the  decade  1880-90  the  imports  averaged  round  300  million 
cubic  feet,  with  an  average  value  of  $75,000,000 ;  and  during 
the  last  decade  the  following  changes  in  amounts  and  values 
took  place :  — 


Million  Feet.       Million  Dollars. 


1 891  . 
1894  . 

1896  . 

1897  . 


435 
500 

455 


78 
92 
106 
127 
117 


—  an  increase  in  forty  years  by  over  200  per  cent,  while  the 
population  only  increased  42  per  cent. 

In  France,  which  is  also  relying  upon  imports  to  a  very 
large  extent  (over  80  per  cent  in  value),  we  find  a  still  more 
striking  increase  of  wood  consumption,  as  may  be  judged 
from  the  statement  of  the  values  of  wood  imports,  which  were 
as  follows :  — 


v.„. 

Million  Francs. 

Year. 

Million  Francs. 

1827  .... 

20.4 

1875    .... 

164.I 

1840  .... 

34-9 

1880   .... 

278 

1850  .... 

50.1 

1890   .... 

157-9 

i860  .... 

123-6 

1900   .... 

177 

1868  .... 

179.4 

The  wood  exports  increased  during  these  seventy  years  from 
4.5  million  to  47  million  fi-ancs,  leaving,  nevertheless,  a  total 
increase  in  excess  of  imports  by  over  700  per  cent  to  satisfy 
the  needs  above  home  production,  while  the  population  in- 
creased about  20  per  cent  in  that  period,  the  home  produc- 
tion slightly  decreasing  since  1870. 


41. 


APPENDIX. 


In  the  case  of  France,  deforestation  at  home  may  account 
in  part  for  this  increase  of  imports,  especially  in  the  earlier 
decades.  Not  so  in  Germany,  the  land  famous  for  its  con- 
servative forest  management  and  thrift. 

Germany,  which  until  1863  was  an  export  country,  its  ex- 
ports of  wood  exceeding  its  imports  in  that  year  still  by 
125,000  tons,  after  that  year  shows  a  constant  increase  of 
wood  imports,  and  to-day  Germany  pays  over  $70,000,000  for 
wood  in  excess  of  its  exports  and  in  addition  to  its  own  crop. 
The  excess  of  imports  over  exports  averaged  per  year  as 
follows :  — 


Million 

Million 

Period. 

tons. 

marks. 

Period. 

tons. 

marks. 

1865-69    .       . 

890 

— 

1892    .      .       . 

3,000 

140.7 

1870-79     .       . 

1,966 

— 

1894    .       .      . 

2,506 

II8.8 

i88o-8g    .     . 

1,650 

635 

1896    .      .       . 

3,090 

171 

1890    .     .      . 

2,892 

128.5 

1898    .       .       . 

4,435 

2S6 

an  increase  in  40  years  by  400  per  cent  in  amount,  in  20  years 
by  over  350  per  cent  in  values,  besides  a  considerable  increase 
in  its  home  production,  as  is  shown  in  Chapter  X,  while  the 
population  increased  only  by  about  38  per  cent.  These  figures 
would  indicate  in  general  an  increase  of  5  to  10  times  in  per 
capita  consumption ;  increase  in  prices  accounting  only  to  a 
limited  degree  for  increase  in  the  figures. 

In  spite  of  the  substitution  of  iron  and  stone  for  timber  wood 
and  of  coal  for  fuel  wood,  the  wood  consumption  in  Germany 
has  increased  from  about  1,625  million  cubic  feet  in  1872  to 
2,051  million  in  1898.  The  consumption  of  fuel  wood,  to  be 
sure,  has  lately  decreased,  but  not  in  proportion  to  the  coal 
mined,  for  the  annual  consumption  of  wood  and  coal  per 
capita  was  as  shown  on  opposite  page.  (This  table  leaves 
out  importations,  which  add  from  3  to  6  cubic  feet,  mainly  to 
timber  wood). 


NOTES. 


419 


Timbe 

wood. 

Fuel 

vood. 

Coal. 

Cubic  ft. 

Per  cent. 

Cubic  ft. 

Per  cent. 

Tons. 

Per  cent. 

1872-75 

13 

100 

27 

100 

1.062 

100 

1876-80 

12.4 

95 

26.3 

95 

1. 169 

1 10 

1881-85 

12.4 

95 

24.8 

92 

1.445 

136 

1886-90 

13-4 

103 

23.8 

88 

1.686 

159 

1891-95 

14 

108 

22.4 

83 

1-939 

183 

1896 

14.5 

III 

22 

82 

2-153 

203 

P.  22.     Proportion  of  Wood  consumed  for  Necessities.  —  In 

this  connection  it  would  liave  been  proper  to  point  out  that 
this  consumption  refers  to  the  net  wood  product.  The  un- 
avoidable very  large  waste,  which  occurs  in  the  shaping  of  the 
raw  material  for  use,  and  which  in  most  cases  is  a  total  loss, 
amounts  to  almost  50  per  cent,  —  that  is  to  say,  of  the  cubic 
contents  of  a  round  average  log  only  half  the  wood  falls  from 
the  saw  in  useful  size,  the  balance  being  turned  into  sawdust, 
slabs,  edgings,  etc.,  which  only  under  special  conditions  can 
be  made  useful.  In  addition,  a  large  amount  of  wood  in  the 
shape  of  top  and  branches  is  left  in  the  woods  unused,  unless 
a  dense  population  or  special  industrial  development  makes  its 
use  possible  and  profitable ;  this  loss  may  amount  to  another 
20-30  per  cent,  so  that  of  the  wood  of  a  forest-grown  tree  often 
not  more  than  20  to  30  per  cent  appears  in  useful  shape. 

The  following  table  shows  how,  in  the  usual  mill  practice, 
the  loss  varies  with  the  size  of  material,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
the  value  per  cubic  foot  of  forest-grown  material  increases 
with  the  size  of  log,  a  financial  argument  against  the  cutting 
of  the  smaller  trees  and  also  an  economic  argument  for  the 
urgency  of  devising  uses  for  the  mill  waste  and  forest  waste. 
Much  of  this  waste  can  be  utilized,  but  is  usually  thrown 
aside  through  ignorance  of  its  value,  or  lack  of  handling 
facilities. 


420 


APPENDIX. 


Value  Accretion  and  Waste  of  Wood. 


Contents  in 

cubic  feet. 

Price  a 

$^6.00  per  M  ft. 

Diam.  of  log 

Waste  per 
cent. 

lo  ft.  long. 
Inches. 

Round 
log. 

Mill 
product. 

Cost  per 

log. 

Cents. 

Cost  per  cubic 
foot. 
Cents. 

8 

35 

1-3 

63 

9 

2.6 

12 

i6 

7-9 
14 

4 
8 

50 

43 

g 

3-8 
4-3 

20 

21.7 

14 

35 

132 

4.8 

24 

31-3 

21 

H 

ISO 

4.8 

30 

40 

49 
87 

35 
67 

28 
23 

III 

li 

5° 

136.2 

no 

20 

993 

5.8 

The  second  column  gives  the  actual  cubic  contents  ;  the  third 
gives  the  feet  board  measure,  as  noted  in  the  most  favorable 
log  scale  translated  into  cubic  feet  by  dividing  by  12;  the 
third  column  shows  the  amount  of  waste  experienced  at 
the  saw;  the  last  column  shows  what  the  cubic  foot  actually 
in  the  log  has  been  paid  for,  if  a  stumpage  price  per  M  feet 
board  measure  prevailed. 

P.  27.  Wood  for  Fuel  in  the  United  States.  —  The  census 
of  1880  made  a  comprehensive  canvass  of  the  fuel  wood  con- 
sumption, which  showed  that  33,375,000  persons  used  wood 
for  domestic  fuel  at  the  rate  of  4^  cords  per  capita,  while  the 
total  consumption  for  domestic,  railroad,  steamboat,  and 
manufacturing  purposes  was  nearly  146  million  cords,  the 
total  valued  at  $322,000,000,  or  2.9  cords  per  capita,  nearly 
twelve  times  the  German  consumption.  No  statistics  are  at 
hand  to  estimate  the  present  consumption  of  wood  for  fuel  in 
the  United  States,  but  there  are  no  reasons  to  assume  that  it 
has  decreased  appreciably  in  spite  of  the  fact  of  the  enormous 
increase  in  coal  consumption,  which  is  mainly  due  to  indus- 


NOTES.  421 

trial  development.  According  to  the  United  States  Treasury 
Statistical  Bureau's  Summary,  the  world's  production  of  coal 
rose  from  144  million  tons  in  i860  to  450  million  tons  in  1883, 
and  to  866  million  tons  in  1901,  an  increase  in  40  years  of 
over  500  per  cent,  and  since  1820,  when  coal  was  first  more 
generally  recognized  as  fuel,  the  increase  has  been  4500  per 
cent.  Five-sixths  of  the  present  consumption  was  furnished 
for  the  last  30  years  by  Great  Britain  and  Germany,  and 
Belgium,  the  largest  consumer  of  coal  per  capita  after  Great 
Britain.  The  coal  production  of  the  United  States,  which 
in  1870  furnished  but  15  per  cent  of  the  world's  supply, 
has  grown  steadily  until  in  1901  it  represented,  with  295 
million  tons,  34  per  cent,  outstripping  Great  Britain  and 
Germany. 

What  the  substitution  of  coal  for  fuel  means  may  be  realized 
by  translating  the  coal  consumption  into  wood  consumption. 
The  fuel  value  of  a  ton  of  coal  may  be  set  equal  to  about  100 
cubic  feet  of  wood;  hence  the  170  million  tons  of  coal  now 
consumed  per  annum  in  the  United  States  supplant  17  billion 
cubic  feet  of  wood.  To  raise  this  amount  of  wood  continu- 
ously not  less  than  300  million  acres,  more  than  half  our  pres- 
ent acreage  (at  56  cubic  feet  per  acre),  would  have  to  be  kept 
under  good  forestry  management. 

P.  27.  Cellulose  and  Wood  Pulp  Industry.  —  Wood  pulp  is 
either  mechanically  ground  or  chemically  prepared,  when  it  is 
called  cellulose,  or  chemical  fibre.  Most  of  it  is  used  for  the 
manufacture  of  paper.  The  progress  of  the  wood  pulp  indus- 
try in  the  United  States  has  been  marvellous,  as  shown  by  the 
growth  in  daily  capacity  of  running  wood  pulp  mills. 

While  in  1881  this  was  less  than  800,000  lbs.,  it  had  more 
than  doubled  in  1887,  and  again  more  than  doubled  within 
two  years  in  1889.  increasing  steadily  from  that  time. 

The  following  figures,  taken  from  Lockwood's  Paper  Trade 
Journal,  include  both  mechanical  pulp  and  chemical  fibre,  but 
do  not  take  into  account  small  amounts  produced  by  paper 
mills  directly :  — 


22 

APPENDIX. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

1 889       • 

.    3,814,600 

1894    . 

.    7,599,900 

1890 

•    4,141,700 

1895    . 

.     8,330,400 

1891       . 

.    4,507,700 

1896     . 

9,509.000 

1892 

.    5,323,300 

1897    . 

.   10,438,000 

1893       . 

•    6,495,400 

From  data  collected  by  the  twelfth  census  the  daily  capacity 
for  1899  may  be  estimated  at  round  12  million  pounds.  In 
other  words,  in  the  last  ten  years  the  capacity  of  the  mills 
has  been  trebled. 

The  census  statistics  unfortunately  are  not  collected  in  a 
manner  which  makes  those  of  one  census  comparable  with 
those  of  others,  as  they  either  combine  or  separate  paper  and 
pulp,  the  raw  and  the  finished  product.  This  combination  is 
explained  by  the  fact  that  many  mills  produce  their  own  pulp. 
Only  the  census  of  1870,  1880,  and  1890  separate  the  pulp 
business,  showing  respectively  value  of  products  of  round 
$49,000,000,  $57,000,000  and  $79,000,000  for  wood  pulp  alone. 
For  the  census  of  1900,  the  manufactures  of  paper  and  pulp 
were  reported  together  as  representing  a  product  of  $127,326,- 
162,  from  763  active  establishments  and  29  idle  ones.  There 
is  no  possibility  of  differentiating  precisely  how  much  of  this 
value  is  to  be  credited  to  wood  pulp,  but  apparently  only 
$28,000,000  are  so  credited  as  the  cost  of  the  wood  materials 
to  the  manufacturers,  while  only  $14,000,000  represent  other 
materials,  and  $27,000,000  are  for  chemicals,  fuel,  etc.  The 
total  product  of  the  wood  pulp  is  given  in  amount  as  round 
1 180  tons,  of  which  nearly  one-half  was  produced  by  the  es- 
tablishments using  it,  about  one-half  of  the  total  being  ground, 
the  other  chemically  prepared  pulp.  In  another  table  it  is  re- 
ported that  1,986,310  cords  of  wood  were  used  by  establish- 
ments using  wood,  and  also  630,000  tons  purchased  wood 
materials,  which  may  in  part  have  been  covered  by  importation. 

The  amount  of  other  paper  stock  used  is  only  1,000,000 
tons,  valued  at  $15,000,000,  indicating  that  about  one-half  of 
our  paper  is  made  of  wood. 


NOTES.  423 

We  may  be  safe  from  these  figures  to  estimate  the  total 
wood  consumption  for  this  one  manufacture,  paper,  as  round 
2^  million  cords,  in  addition  to  a  certain  amount  of  fuel  wood 
and  an  import,  in  spite  of  high  tariff  rates,  of  about  70,000 
tons  in  excess  of  exports,  worth  between  $2,000,000  and 
$3,000,000.  The  wood  value  of  this  industry  is  then  over 
$30,000,000. 

Spruce  constitutes  about  76  per  cent  of  all  the  wood  used ; 
in  this  amount,  however,  a  considerable  proportion  of  balsam 
fir,  and  lately  hemlock,  is  included ;  13  per  cent  is  credited  to 
poplar,  and  11  percent  to  other  kinds.  (For  a  brief  but  com- 
prehensive description  of  the  industry,  see  Report  for  1890, 
Division  of  Forestry,  United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture.) 

To  secure  the  round  2  million  cords  of  spruce  alone,  almost 
entirely  cut  in  the  northeastern  states,  at  least  200,000  acres 
of  virgin  mixed  woods  must  be  annually  culled,  and  over 
2  million  acres  in  pure  spruce  stands  would  have  to  be  main- 
tained under  good  forestry  management  to  secure  this  product 
continuously. 

The  growth  of  this  industry  in  European  countries  is  not 
less  remarkable,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  while  in 
1870  there  were  in  Germany  and  Austria  92  wood  pulp  mills, 
in  1890  there  were  836  reported,  and  911  in  1896.  In  Sweden 
the  export  of  wood  pulp  rose  from  9003  tons  in  1881  to  133,- 
889  tons  in  1895.  In  Germany  the  output  of  wood  pulp  con- 
sumes now  over  500,000  cords  of  wood  per  annum,  and,  in  the 
light  of  the  anxieties  which  have  lately  been  aroused  in  the 
United  States  regarding  the  enormous  increase  in  this  drain 
of  our  forest  resources,  it  is  significant  to  read  the  comment  of 
one  of  the  leading  foresters  of  Germany :  "  The  advantage  of 
this  industry  for  forest  management  is  that  the  small  sizes 
of  coniferous  wood,  which  could  formerly  be  sold  only  as  fuel 
wood  at  small  prices  or  could  not  be  sold  at  all,  now  have 
found  a  ready  market,  and  by  this  competition  the  wood  prices, 
especially  for  small  wood,  have  risen.     A  profitable  forest 


424  APPENDIX. 

management  for  private  owners  has  in  many  places  becomt 
possible  only  t/iroiigh  the  wood  pulp  industry  y 

This  would  indicate  that  in  Germany  it  is  the  small-sized 
material,  the  tops,  which  go  into  this  manufacture,  while  with 
us  the  logs  are  used,  the  tops  are  left  in  the  woods,  and  no 
provision  for  re-growth  is  made. 

P.  28.  Substitution  of  Other  Blaterials.  —  Whatever  the 
reasoning  regarding  the  possible  substitution  of  other  mate- 
rials for  wood,  the  historical  evidence  so  far  has  been  the 
other  way :  new  and  more  extensive  use  of  wood  has  accom- 
panied the  development  of  these  other  materials. 

The  increase  of  wood  consumption  parallel  with  the  increase 
of  consumption  of  its  substitutes,  coal,  iron,  and  stone,  simply  ac- 
centuates the  influence  of  the  great  modern  industrial  develop- 
ment and  increase  of  civilization,  which  means  increase  in  wants. 

P.  28.  Tanning  Bark.  —  The  leather  industry,  which  in  the 
year  1900  produced,  with  a  capital  of  over  $356,000,000 
and  a  wage  of  over  $105,000,000,  a  product  valued  at  over 
$615,000,000,  relies  for  the  tanning,  in  spite  of  the  in- 
creased use  of  substitutes,  still  mainly  on  the  bark  of  two 
kinds  of  trees,  namely,  oak  and  hemlock.  Of  the  amount 
spent  for  tan  materials  ($17,000,000),  nearly  $12,000,000  is 
for  such  bark  and  bark  extracts,  denoting  a  consumption  of 
about  I  h  million  cords  of  tan  bark,  as  against  about  half  that 
consumption  in  1880. 

The  consumption  of  hemlock  bark  is  nearly  three  times  as 
great  as  that  of  oak.  Consequently  the  largest  production  is 
to  be  found  in  western  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  where 
the  largest  supplies  of  this  material  are  to  be  found,  these  two 
States  producing  about  half  the  cordage  consumed.  One  ton 
of  hemlock  bark  will  tan  about  300  pounds  of  sole  and  400 
pounds  of  upper  leather.  The  usual  harvest  of  hemlock  bark 
averages  12  to  15  cords  per  acre,  worth  $6  to  $7  per  cord. 
As  long  as  the  timber  is  used  afterwards,  which  is  now  prob- 
ably done  in  most  places,  this  utilization  of  a  by-product  is 
one  of  the  important  economies  in  forest  utilization. 


NOTES.  425 

A  very  full  account  of  the  industry  as  far  as  its  relation 
to  forest  supplies  is  concerned  may  be  found  in  "Reports 
on  Forestry"  by  F.  B.  Hough,  Vol.  Ill,  1882,  pp.  68 
to  128. 

P.  29.  The  Naval  Store  Industry.  —  The  naval  store  in- 
dustry is  confined  to  the  pineries  of  the  South,  —  Alabama, 
Florida,  and  Georgia  being  the  principal  producers.  It 
supplies  mainly  materials  used  for  the  manufacture  of  var- 
nishes, paints,  soaps,  and  in  the  rubber  and  paper  industries, 
besides  tar  and  pitch,  and  has  grown  most  unprecedentedly 
during  the  last  decade.  While  from  1850  to  1890  the  increase 
of  value  in  products  was  only  from  less  than  $3,000,000  to 
a  little  less  than  $8,000,000,  in  the  decade  from  1890  to  1900 
it  rose,  according  to  the  census,  to  $20,344,888.  The  capital 
employed  and  the  wages  paid  trebled,  while  the  value  more 
than  doubled.  This  great  increase  may  be  only  apparent,  the 
difficulty  of  gathering  statistics  in  previous  censuses  having 
produced  too  low  figures  ;  nevertheless,  increase  in  industrial 
development  must  account  for  a  large  part  of  the  increase. 
Nearly  all  the  rosin  produced  and  nearly  one-half  of  the  spirits 
of  turpentine  are  exported. 

Through  the  investigations  of  the  Forestry  Division  in  1890 
to  1892  (see  Report  of  Division  of  Forestry  for  1892  for  full 
description  of  this  industry)  it  was  established  that  this  in- 
dustry can  be  carried  on  without  any  necessary  detriment  to 
the  forest  and  the  timber  product,  but  unfortunately  the 
necessary  precautions  and  methods  for  such  harmless  use  of 
these  by-products  are  mostly  not  practised. 

P.  32.  Relative  Position  of  Forest  Industries  in  1890.  — 
Census  statistics  of  the  employment  of  capital,  persons  em- 
ployed, and  wages  in  the  minor  forest  industries  are  either 
absent  or  more  or  less  deficient.  Moreover,  in  an  industry  in 
which  many  people  are  only  temporarily  or  incidentally  and 
for  a  part  of  the  year  engaged,  the  exploitation  of  the  forests 
makes  a  close  enumeration  well  nigh  impossible.  Hence,  in 
comparison  with  other  industries  concentrated  at  centres  of 


426 


APPENDIX. 


production  or  carried  on  with  continuity,  the  forest  industries 
lose  relatively. 

To  get  a  closer  approximation  to  the  truth,  and  a  more  just 
appreciation  of  the  comparative  significance  of  the  forest 
resource,  the  writer,  upon  the  basis  of  census  data  of  1890  and 
other  information,  made  an  attempt  in  1896  to  supply  these 
deficiencies  by  estimate.  In  this  estimate  all  wood  and  other 
forest  products,  as  railroad  ties  and  timbers,  telegraph  poles, 
fence  material,  cord  wood,  bark,  and  other  by-products  are 
included,  leading  to  the  following  result :  — 

Leading  Industries  Compared. 


Capital 

Em- 
ployees. 

Raw 

in- 
volved. 

Wages. 

mate- 
rial. 

Mil- 

Thou- 

Mil- 

Mil- 

lions. 

sands. 

lions. 

lions. 

15,982 

8.286 





562 

348 

102 

245 

-1- 

-1- 

+ 

543 

513 

294 

442 

343 

300 

109 



486 

57 

40 

134 

34 

no 

414 

176 

96 

327 

102 

48 

136 

118 

88 

153 

297 

219 

77 

203 

354 

70 

155 

Prod- 
ucts. 


Agriculture 

Forest  products,  total       .... 
Forest  industries,  enumerated 
Forest  products,  not  enumer- 
ated (estimated)     .... 
Manufactures     using    wood    (see 
table  on  opposite  page)  .     . 

Mineral  products,  total    .... 

Coal 

Gold  and  silver 

Pig-iron 

Manufactures  of  iron  and  steel 

Leather 

Leather  manufactures  .... 
Woollen  manufactures  .... 
Cotton  manufactures 


2460 
1044 

446 

598 
907 


To  secure  the  statement  regarding  the  manufactures  using 
wood,  these  were  classified  according  to  the  estimated  per- 
centage of  wood  entering  into  their  products  and  assuming 
that  capital,  labor,  and  value  of  products  stand  in  the  same 
proportion  as  the  raw  materials  used.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
there  is  probably  more  labor  employed  in  shaping  wood  than 
this  percentage  would  indicate. 


NOTES.  427 

Forest  Industries  and  Manufactures  Using  Wood. 


Articles. 

Capital. 

Em- 
ployees. 

Wages. 

Raw 
material. 

Value 
of  product. 

Forest   industries    enu- 

merated : 

Thous'nds 

Hundreds 

Thous'nds 

Thous'nds 

Thous'nds 

Lumber      and      mill 

products  .... 

$496,340 

2,862 

$87,784 

$231,556 

$403,668 

Timber  products  not 

manufactured       at 

mill 

61,541 

461 

i',354 

11,007 

34,290 

Naval  stores     .     .     . 

4,063 

153 

2,933 

3,506 

8,077 

Total 

3,477 

102,071 

245,169 

446,034 

Manufactures       practi- 

cally all  wood: 

Cigar  boxes      .     .     . 

3,374 

55 

2,134 

3,567 

7,092 

Packing  boxes      .     . 

13,018 

140 

6,477 

14,245 

25,513 

Carriage  and  wagon 

stock 

13,028 

109 

5,208 

1,388 

16,262 

Carpentering   .     .     . 

81,543 

1,409 

94,524 

137,847 

281,195 

Cooperage  .... 

17,817 

247 

I I, 66s 

2,637 

38,618 

Furniture        factory 

products  .... 

66,394 

639 

34,471 

38,796 

94,871 

Kindling  wood      .     . 

1,300 

18 

772 

2,402 

Lasts 

907 

8 

572 

331 

1,239 

Planing-mill  products 

120,271 

869 

48,970 

104,927 

183,682 

Matches 

Wood,     turned     and 

carved       .... 

7,826 

84 

4,267 

3,947 

10940 

Woodenware    .     .     . 

2,712 

31 

1,237 

1,499 

3,598 

Wood  pulp  .... 

7,455 

28 

1,229 

2,005 

4,628 

Wood  carpet    .     .     . 

333 

3 

155 

214 

512 

Total 

337,908 

3,650 

212,027 

331,523 

672,750 

Manufactures  in  which 

wood  represents  about 

50  per  cent  of  the  raw 

materials:*     Total   . 

169,983 

1.356 

71,460 

114,383 

229,408 

Wood  percentage    .     . 

89,991 

678 

57,192 

114,704 

Manufactures  in  which 



wood  represents  about 

33%  per  cent:  t  Total 

321,059 

2,143 

123,588 

148,578 

318,218 

Wood  percentage     .     . 

107,619 

714 

4I,iq6 

49,526 

106,072 

Manufactures  in  which 

wood  represents  about 

10  per  cent:  J     Total 

76,841 

915 

46,854 

49,291 

131,820 

Wood  percentage     .     . 

7,684 

92 

4,685 

4,929 

13,182 

Manufactures  of  wood: 

Total 

543,402 

5,134 

293,638 

443,170 

906,708 

*  Includes  carriages  and  wagon  factory  product,  children's  carriages  and  sleds, 
steam  and  street  cars,  coffins  and  burial  caskets,  chairs,  wheelbarrows,  sewing 
machine  cases,  artificial  limbs,  and  refrigerators,  and  shipbuilding. 

t  Includes  agricultural  implements,  billiard  tables,  railroad  and  street  car  re- 
pairs, furniture  repairs,  washing  machines  and  wringers,  organs  and  pianos. 

X  Includes  blacksmithing  and  wheelwrichtina;,  bridges,  brooms  and  brushes, 
gunpowder,  artists'  materials,  windmills,  toys  and  garnet,  sporting  goods,  lead 
pencils,  pipes  and  pumps. 


428 


APPENDIX. 


The  proportions  in  which  the  various  kinds  of  products 
contribute  toward  the  total  of  $1,044,000,000  in  value  were 
figured  as  follows  :  — 


Million 

Million 

cu.  ft. 

dollars. 

Mill  products,  lumber,  shingles,  laths,  pickets, 

staves,  carriage,  implement,  and  furniture 

stock,  etc.  (35,000  million  feet  B.M.) 

6,000 

450 

Railroad   construction  (ties,  bridge    timber, 

telegraph  poles) 

55° 

45 

Export  timber 

12 

.5 

Wood  pulp •         . 

100 

5 

Miscellaneous  bolt  sizes        .... 

200 

50 

Total  materials  requiring  log  and  bolt 

sizes 

6,862 

555 

Fuel  and  fencing 

1 8,000 

450 

Charcoal 

250 

7 

Dyewood  and  gunpowder      .         .  •       . 

16 

•5 

Naval  stores 

8.5 

Wood  alcohol  and  acetic  acid 

2.5 

Tanning  material 

15 

Maple  syrup  and  sugar 

5-5 

Grand  total       .... 

25,128 

1044 

The  cubic  contents  are  estimates  of  the  forest-grown  material 
which  might  furnish  the  amounts  of  prepared  materials  at  the 
given  values.  They  give  an  insight  into  the  possibilities  and 
necessities  of  supply  and  its  character.  The  fiael  wood  con- 
sumption in  the  above  estimate  has  been  assumed  to  have 
been  somewhat  decreased  from  that  of  the  census  of  1880,  the 
value  per  cord  ($2.20)  to  have  remained  the  same. 


NOTES. 


429 


As  will  be  seen  in  the  notes  to  Chapter  XI,  the  census  of 
1900  places  the  value  of  the  mill  products,  including  an 
uncertain  part  of  the  rest  of  bolt  and  log  size  material,  at 
$566,832,984,  to  which  at  least  the  wood  pulp  with  round 
$28,000,000  must  be  added,  increasing  this  most  important 
portion  of  forest  products  by  about  10  per  cent.  In  the  minor 
forest  products  the  naval  store  industry  has  increased  to  over 
$20,000,000,  the  wood  alcohol  industry  to  nearly  $4,000,000, 
the  tanning  materials  being  slightly  reduced  and  the  maple 
sugar  industry  slightly  increased. 

The  present  value  of  all  forest  products,  at  places  of  first 
manufacture  or  consumption,  may  then  be  safely  placed  at 
round  $1,100,000,000.  The  value  of  the  wood  manufacture 
has  naturally  also  increased,  increasing  by  so  much  the  eco- 
nomic significance  of  our  forest  resource.  To  gain  an  insight 
into  the  importance  of  the  forest  resource  in  our  industrial 
world  the  following  comparison  will  serve,  in  which  the  manu- 
factures requiring  wood  as  an  essential  part  of  the  manufacture, 
including  sawmills,  etc.,  are  placed  in  opposition  to  all  the 
manufactures  of  the  country.  In  this  comparison  the  reduc- 
tion for  wood  value  only  as  given  in  the  table  on  p.  427  has 
not  been  made. 


1890. 

Capital. 

Product. 

Employees. 

Wages. 

Million. 

Million. 

Thousand. 

Million. 

All  manufactures     .     .     . 

Manufactures     dependent 

on  wood      

Wood  manufactures  repre- 
sent of  all  manufactures 

1,402 
21% 

9,372 
1,756 

19% 

4,712 
1,093 

23% 

2,283 
542 

24% 

430  APPENDIX. 

P.  js-  Wealth  of  the  Nation. —  The  total  wealth  of  the 
United  States  was  estimated,  upon  the  basis  of  census  data, 
in  1890  to  be  distributed  about  as  follows  :  — 

Billion  dollars. 
.      26.2 

•  13-3 
.         2.7 

•  9-3 
.      6.5 

1.2 

I.I 

.      4-7 

65.0 


Real  estate  not  in  farms  .  .  .  . 
Farm  property  in  land  .  .  .  . 
Farm  property  in  cattle  and  equipment  . 
Railways  and  telegraph  lines  . 
Capital  in  large  manufacturing  industries 
Mines,  quarries,  and  their  capital  stock  . 
Gold,  silver,  coin,  bullion 
All  other  property 


P.  35.  Forest  Area  of  the  World.  —  As  has  been  pointed 
out  in  various  parts  of  this  volume  the  forest  area  gives  but 
an  imperfect  and  unreliable  basis  for  a  discussion  of  the  wood 
supply  question ;  the  contents  and  their  condition  and  the 
accessibility  to  wood-consuming  nations  being  the  much 
more  significant  factors. 

The  table  on  p.  431  condenses  information,  more  or  less 
reliable,  regarding  some  of  the  more  important  forest  areas  of 
the  world.  While  these  figures  cannot  claim  absolute  cor- 
rectness, authorities  varying  more  or  less,  they  give  at  least 
appro.ximate  ideas  of  the  relative  position  of  the  countries 
enumerated. 

P.  51.  Wood  Consumption  in  United  States.  —  Making 
allowance  for  the  increases  appearing  in  the  census  of  1900, 
we  may  now  roughly  state  our  consumption  at  26  billion  cubic 
feet,  one-third  of  which  ;/iiist  be  of  log  or  bolt  size, — a 
yearly  harvest  which  could  still  be  continuously  supplied  by 
our  forest  area  of  500  million  acres,  if  it  were  managed 
upon  forestry  principles,  namely,  as  a  crop  harvested  with 
due  regard  to  its  continuous  reproduction,  and  if  proper 
economy  and  differentiation  of  relative  usefulness  of  material 
were  practised. 


NOTES. 


431 


Forest  area. 

Per  cent  of 

Per  capita. 

State 

Country, 

Millionacres. 

total  area. 

Acres. 

ownership. 
Per  cent. 

United  States     .     . 

500 

26 

7 

I.+ 

(see  pp.  335-339) 

(650) 

(34) 

(9) 

Canada     .... 

800 

38 

145 

(probably    avail- 

able, only) 

(350) 

(17) 

(64) 

Europe     .... 

767 

31 

2.05 

Russia  . 

47'-5 

37-6 

4-55 

63 

Finland 

50.5 

61.6 

20.37 

40 

Sweden 

48.9 

44 

9 

27.2 

Germany 

34-9 

25.8 

.67 

32-9 

Austria 

24-3 

32-3 

1.03 

7-3 

France  . 

23-8 

17.8 

6.3 

11.8 

Hungary 

22.7 

28 

1.30 

16 

Spain    . 

21.2 

17 

1.30 

84 

Norway 

17 

21 

8.50 

11.6 

Bulgaria 

10.8 

45 

3-25 

Italy      . 

10.2 

14.2 

•33 

4 

Bosnia  and 

Herzegovina    . 

6.8 

53 

4-33 

70.2 

Turkey.     .     .     . 

6.3 

8 

Roumania . 

5-1 

16.9 

1.00 

47 

Great  Britain 

3 

3-8 

.20 

3-6 

Servia  .     . 

2.4 

2.0 

1.03 

Switzerland 

2.1 

20.5 

•73 

4.4 

Greece .     . 

2 

15.8 

•93 

80 

Belgium     . 

1-3 

17 

.20 

5 

Portugal     . 

.8 

3-5 

•15 

8 

Denmark   . 

.6 

6.4 

•25 

24 

Holland     . 

.6 

7 

.12 

Luxemburg 

.2 

30-4 

.90 

India   .     .     . 

115 

12 

.40 

50 

Australia  .     . 

Japan  .     .     . 

57 

60 

1.45 

30 

432  APPENDIX. 

NOTES    TO    CHAPTER   III. 

P.  63.  Investigations  in  Forest  Meteorology.  —  The  results 
of  the  Bavarian  observations,  as  well  as  the  methods  pursued, 
were  published  by  Dr.  Ernst  Ebermayer  in  "  Die  physikalischen 
Einwirkungen  des  Waldes  auf  Luft  und  Boden  und  seine 
klimatologische  und  hygienische  Bedeutung,"  BerHn,  1873. 
A  very  full  summary  is  to  be  found  in  F.  B.  Hough's  "  Report 
upon  Forestry,"  Vol.  I,  Washington,  Government  Printing 
Office,  1878.  A  more  complete  discussion  of  the  whole 
question  and  record  of  the  investigations  into  "forest  in- 
fluences "  is  to  be  found  in  Bulletin  7,  Division  of  Forestry, 
U.S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  1887,  with  further  additions 
to  be  found  in  H.  R.  doc.  181,  55th  Congress,  3d  session, 
1899,  from  which  sources  the  following  data  are  reproduced. 

P.  64.  Inef&ciency  of  Rain  Gauges.  —  The  inaccuracy  of 
the  rainfall  measurements  by  the  ordinary  unprotected  gauges 
is  explained  by  Mr.  Cleveland  Abbe,  in  the  Bulletin  cited,  as 
follows :  "  In  the  case  of  ordinary  rainfalls  we  invariably 
have  the  air  full  of  large  and  small  drops,  including  the  finer 
particles  that  constitute  a  drizzling  mist  and  the  fragments  of 
drops  that  are  broken  up  by  spattering.  All  these  are  de- 
scending at  various  velocities  which,  according  to  Stokes, 
depend  on  tlieir  size  and  density  and  the  viscous  resistance  of 
the  air ;  the  particles  of  hail  descend  even  faster  than  drops 
of  water,  and  the  flakes  of  snow  descend  slower  than  ordinary 
drops.  Now,  when  the  wind  strikes  an  obstacle,  the  deflected 
currents  on  all  sides  of  the  obstacle  move  past  the  latter  more 
rapidly ;  therefore  the  open  mouth  of  the  rain  gauge  has 
above  it  an  invisible  layer  of  air  whose  horizontal  motion  is 
more  rapid  than  that  of  the  wind  a  Httle  distance  higher  up. 
Of  the  falling  raindrops,  the  larger  ones  may  descend  with  a 
rapidity  sufficient  to  penetrate  this  swiftly  moving  layer,  but  the 
slower  falling  drops  will  be  carried  over  the  leeward  of  the 
gauge,  and,  failing  to  enter  it,  will  miss  being  counted  as  rain- 
fall, although  they  go  on  to  the  ground  near  by.     Evidently, 


NOTES. 


433 


the  stronger  the  wind  the  larger  will  be  the  proportion  of  small 
drops  that  are  carried  past  the  gauge ;  or  again,  the  larger 
the  proportion  of  small  drops  and  light  flakes  of  snow  that 
constitute  a  given  shower,  the  more  a  gauge  will  lose  for  a 
given  velocity  of  wind.  In  brief,  the  loss  will  depend  both 
upon  the  velocity  of  the  wind  and  the  velocity  of  the  descent 
of  the  precipitation ;  therefore,  a  gauge  will,  in  general,  catch 
less  in  winter  than  in  summer;  less  in  a  climate  where  light, 
fine  rains  occur  than  where  the  rains  are  composed  of  larger, 
heavier  drops ;  less  in  a  country  or  in  a  season  of  strong 
winds  than  of  feeble  winds ;  less  when  exposed  to  the  full 
force  of  the  wind  by  being  elevated  on  a  post,  than  when  ex- 
posed to  the  feebler  winds  near  the  ground.  .  .   . 

"  The  distinction  between  the  eflFect  of  the  winds  in  heavy 
rains  and  fine  rains  is  very  clearly  brought  out  by  Bbrnstein's 
classification  of  the  catch  on  twenty-six  days  of  fine  rain  and 
forty-three  days  of  heavier  rains ;  the  percentages  are  shown 
in  the  following  table  "  :  — 


43  Heavy  rains. 

26  Fine  rains. 

Wind  force. 

No.  of  days. 

Deficit 
per  cent. 

No.  of  days. 

Deficit 
per  cent. 

O 

I 
2 
3 

4 

I? 
13 

7 
6 

6 
13 
H 
I? 

4 

I 

6 

23 

46 

52 

Rain  gauges  under  trees  do  not  record  all  the  rain  fallen. 
The  percentage  of  precipitation  recorded  under  trees  of 
different  kinds  has  been  found  as  follows  :  — 


Entire  year. 

Warm  season. 

75 
74 
77 

70 
65 

74 

Average  for  deciduous 
Average  for  evergreens 

trees    .     . 

434  APPENDIX. 

These  data  are  the  result  of  observations  at  sixteen  stations 
for  about  150  years. 

The  table  shows  that  in  the  warm  season  30  per  cent  of  the 
rainfall  in  the  open  fields  fails  to  reach  the  gauges  under  the 
trees.  Taking  all  seasons  together,  25  per  cent  is  intercepted. 
This  deficit  does  not  include  the  water  which  drips  from  the 
leaves,  for  this  is  fairly  accounted  for  by  the  gauges.  It  is  the 
water  which  moistens  the  tree  and  its  various  parts  and  that 
which  flows  down  the  trunk.  The  former  is  evaporated  with- 
out reaching  the  soil  ;  the  latter  reaches  the  soil  finally,  and 
is  measurable.  Some  experiments  have  indicated  this  amount 
to  be  about  8  per  cent  of  the  precipitation. 

The  same  difficulties  experienced  with  rain  gauges  are  also 
found  to  attach  to  thermometers ;  the  best  thermometers 
placed  side  by  side  will  vary  by  as  much  as  1.6°  F.  and 
usually  0.7°  F.,  hence  small  differences  of  temperature  may  be 
merely  inaccuracies,  or  due  to  non-uniformity  of  conditions, 
and  cannot  be  argued  as  a  result  of  forest  influences. 

P.  69.  Details  of  Meteorological  Conditions  within  and  out- 
side of  Forests.  —  The  following  conclusions  have  been  drawn 
from  the  German  observations  and  are  reproduced  from  the 
above-cited  bulletin : — 

Difference  of  Meteorological  Conditions  Within 
AND  Without  the  Forest. 

(i)  Soil  Temperatures.  —  The  general  influence  of  the 
forest  on  soil  temperatures  is  a  cooling  one,  due  to  the  shade 
and  to  the  longer  retention  of  moisture  in  the  forest  floor  as 
well  as  in  the  forest  air,  which  must  be  evaporated  before  the 
ground  can  be  warmed.  As  a  consequence,  the  extremes  of 
high  and  low  temperature  within  the  forest  soil  occur  much 
later  than  in  the  open,  and  both  extremes  are  reduced,  but  the 
extreme  summer  temperatures  much  more  than  the  winter 
temperatures. 

The  difference  between  evergreen  and  deciduous  forests, 
which  almost  vanishes  in  the  winter  time,  is  in  favor  of  the 


NOTES.  435 

deciduous  as  a  cooling  element  in  summer  and  autumn,  while 
during  spring  the  soil  is  cooler  under  evergreens.  The  eflfect 
increases  naturally  with  the  age  and  height  of  the  trees. 

(2)  Air  Temperatures  under  the  Crowns. — The  annual 
range  of  air  temperature  is  smaller  in  the  forest  than  in  the 
open ;  the  effect  upon  the  minimum  temperature  {i.e.  the 
effect  in  winter)  is  less  than  on  the  maximum  temperature 
{i.e.  the  effect  in  summer).  The  combined  effect  is  a  cool- 
ing one.  The  range  of  temperature  is  more  affected  than 
the  average  absolute  temperature,  or,  in  other  words,  the 
moderating  influence  is  greater  than  the  cooling  effect. 

The  monthly  minima  for  middle  latitudes  are  uniformly  re- 
duced during  the  year,  and  the  monthly  maxima  are  much 
more  reduced  during  the  summer  than  during  the  winter.  On 
the  average  the  forest  is  cooler  than  the  open  country  in 
summer,  but  about  the  same  in  winter,  with  a  slight  warming 
effect  in  spring. 

The  difference  between  the  mean  monthly  air  temperatures 
in  the  woods  and  in  the  open  varies  with  the  kind  of  forest 
much  more  than  is  the  case  for  soil  temperatures.  The 
evergreen  forest  shows  a  symmetrical  increase  and  decrease 
throughout  the  year.  The  deciduous  forest  shows  a  variable 
influence  which  diminishes  from  the  midwinter  to  springtime, 
but  increases  rapidly  as  the  leaves  appear  and  grow,  becoming 
a  maximum  in  June  and  July,  and  then  diminishing  rapidly 
until  November.  The  annual  average  effect  is  about  the 
same  both  for  evergreen  and  deciduous  forests. 

Forests  situated  at  a  considerable  elevation  above  the  sea 
have  sensibly  the  same  influence  on  the  reduction  of  the  mean 
temperature  as  do  forests  that  are  at  a  low  level. 

Young  forests  affect  the  air  temperature  very  differently 
from  mature  forests  ;  in  the  former  the  minimum  temperatures 
are  always  reduced,  but  the  maxima  are  exaggerated.  The 
observations  on  which  this  conclusion  is  based  ought,  perhaps, 
to  be  considered  as  pertaining  rather  to  the  case  of  tempera- 
tures in  the  tree  tops. 


436  APPENDIX. 

(3)  Air  Tc7nperatures  within  the  Crowns.  —  The  mean 
temperature  of  the  air  in  the  tree  tops,  after  correcting  for 
elevation  above  ground,  is  rather  higher  than  over  open 
fields.  The  effect  of  tree  tops  does  not  appreciably  depend 
upon  the  height  of  the  station  above  ground.  The  effect 
upon  the  minima  is  generally  greater  than  on  the  maxima, 
the  total  effect  being  a  warming  one.  A  tree-top  station  is  in 
general  intermediate,  as  to  temperature,  between  a  station 
near  the  ground  in  the  forest  and  one  in  the  open  field. 

Evergreen  forests  show  less  difference  between  the  temper- 
ature in  the  crown  and  below,  and  altogether  more  uni- 
formity in  temperature  changes  throughout  the  year  than 
deciduous  growth. 

The  vertical  gradient  for  temperature  within  the  forest  on 
the  average  of  all  stations  and  all  kinds  of  forest  trees  is 
large,  varying  from  0.61°  F.  per  100  feet  in  April  to  2.50°  F. 
in  July. 

A  reversal  of  the  vertical  gradient,  namely,  a  higher  temper- 
ature above  than  below,  occurs  in  the  wood,  especially  in  the 
summer  time.  It  also  occurs  in  the  open  air  regularly  at 
night,  and  may  be  three  or  four  times  as  large  as  that  just 
mentioned.  In  general,  the  action  of  the  forest  tends  to  pro- 
duce a  vertical  distribution  of  temperature  like  that  over  snow 
or  level  fields  on  clear  nights. 

(4)  Air  Temperature  above  the  Crowns.  —  The  tempera- 
ture, at  considerable  heights  above  the  forest,  appears  to  be 
slightly  affected  by  the  forest,  and  more  so  with  evergreens 
than  with  deciduous  growth.  The  vertical  gradients  of 
temperature  within  30  feet  above  the  tops  of  the  trees  are  all 
reversed  throughout  the  leafy  season ;  the  gradients  are  also 
greater  above  the  tree  crown  than  below,  at  least  during  the 
clear  sky  and  calm  air.  The  wind  affects  the  temperature 
under  and  within  the  crowns,  but  makes  little  difference  above 
them.  The  surface  of  the  forest  crown  appears  meteorologi- 
cally much  like  the  surface  of  the  meadow  or  cornfield.  It  is 
as  if  the  soil  surface  has  been  raised  to  the  height  of  the  trees. 


NOTES.  437 

(5)  Air  Temperature  in  General.  —  From  the  preceding 
generalizations  it  appears  that  the  forest  affects  the  tempera- 
ture just  as  any  collection  of  inorganic  obstacles  to  sunshine 
and  wind ;  but  as  an  organic  being  the  forest  may  be  also  an 
independent  source  of  heat.  Careful  observations  of  the 
temperature  within  the  trunk  of  the  tree  and  of  the  leaves  of 
the  tree  show  that  the  tree  temperature  is  affected  somewhat 
by  the  fact  that  the  water  rising  brings  up  the  temperature  of 
the  roots,  while  the  food  material  from  the  leaves  brings  their 
temperature  down,  and  the  tree  temperature,  considered  as 
the  result  of  the  complex  adjustment,  is  not  appreciably 
affected  by  any  heat  that  may  be  evolved  by  the  chemical 
processes  on  which  its  growth  depends.  It  is  not  yet  clear 
as  to  whether  the  chemical  changes  that  take  place  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  leaves  should  give  out  any  heat ;  it  is  more  likely 
that  heat  is  absorbed ;  namely,  rendered  latent,  especially  in 
the  formation  of  the  seed  ;  the  process  of  germination  usually 
evolves  this  latent  heat ;  the  immense  quantity  of  water  tran- 
spired and  evaporated  by  the  forests  tends  to  keep  the  leaves 
at  the  same  temperature  as  that  of  the  surface  of  water  or 
moist  soil. 

(6)  Himiidity  of  Air.  —  The  annual  evaporation  within  the 
forests  is  about  one-half  of  that  in  the  open  field  ;  not  only  is 
the  evaporation  within  a  forest  greatest  in  May  and  June,  but 
the  difference  between  this  and  the  evaporation  in  the  open 
field  is  also  then  a  maximum,  which  is  the  saving  due  to  the 
presence  of  the  woods.  The  average  annual  evaporation 
within  the  woods  is  about  44  per  cent  of  that  in  the  field. 
Fully  half  of  the  field  evaporation  is  saved  by  the  presence  of 
the  forest. 

The  quantity  of  moisture  thrown  into  the  air  by  transpira- 
tion from  the  leaves  in  the  forest  is  sometimes  three  times 
that  from  a  horizontal  water  surface  of  the  same  extent,  and 
at  other  times  it  is  less  than  that  of  the  water.  The  tran- 
spiration from  leaves  in  full  sunshine  is  decidedly  greater 
than  from  leaves  in  the  diffused  daylight  or  darkness.     The 


438  APPENDIX. 

absolute  amount  of  annual  transpiration,  as  observed  in 
forests  of  mature  oaks  and  beeches  in  Central  Europe,  may 
amount  to  50  per  cent  of  the  total  annual  precipitation  and 
more  ;  with  conifers,  only  one-sixth  to  one-tenth  of  this. 

The  percentage  of  rainfall,  evaporated  at  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  is  about  40  per  cent  for  the  whole  year  in  the  open 
field  and  about  1 2  per  cent  for  the  forest,  and  is  greater  under 
deciduous  than  under  evergreen  forests. 

The  evaporation  from  a  saturated  bare  soil  in  the  forest  is 
about  the  same  as  that  from  a  water  surface  in  the  forest, 
other  conditions  being  the  same. 

The  presence  of  forest  litter  like  that  lying  naturally  in  un- 
disturbed forests  hinders  the  evaporation  from  the  soil  to  a 
remarkable  extent,  since  it  saves  seven-eighths  of  what  would 
otherwise  be  lost. 

The  total  quantity  of  moisture  returned  into  the  atmosphere 
from  a  forest  by  transpiration  and  evaporation  from  the  trees 
and  the  soil  is  about  75  per  cent  of  the  precipitation.  For 
other  forms  of  vegetation  it  is  about  the  same  or  sometimes 
larger,  varying  between  70  per  cent  and  90  per  cent;  in  this 
respect  the  forest  is  surpassed  by  the  cereals  and  grasses, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  evaporation  from  a  bare  soil  is 
scarcely  30  per  cent  of  the  precipitation. 

The  absolute  humidity  within  a  forest  exceeds  that  of  the 
glades  and  the  plains  by  a  small  quantity.  The  relative 
humidity  in  the  forest  is  also  larger  than  in  the  glades  or 
plains  by  2  per  cent  to  4  per  cent.  Forests  of  evergreens 
have  from  two  to  four  times  the  influence  in  increasing  rela- 
tive humidity  as  do  forests  of  deciduous  trees. 

The  gauges  in  European  forest  stations  catch  from  75  to  85 
per  cent  when  placed  under  the  trees,  the  balance  represent- 
ing that  which  passes  through  the  foliage  and  drips  to  the 
ground  or  runs  down  along  the  trunks  of  trees,  or  else  is  in- 
tercepted and  evaporated.  The  percentage  withheld  by  the 
trees,  and  which  either  evaporates  from  their  surface  or 
trickles  along  the  trunk  to  the  ground,  is  somewhat  greater 


NOTES.  439 

in  the  leafy  season,  though  the  difference  is  not  great.  De- 
ciduous and  evergreen  trees  show  but  slight  differences  in 
this  respect.  More  rain  is  usually  caught  by  gauges  at  a 
given  height  above  the  forest  crown  than  at  the  same  height 
in  open  fields,  but  it  still  remains  doubtful  whether  the  rain- 
fall itself  is  really  larger  over  the  forests,  since  the  recorded 
catcli  of  the  rain  gauge  still  requires  a  correction  for  the  in- 
fluence of  the  force  of  the  wind  at  the  gauge. 

In  such  cases,  where  over  a  large  area  deforestation  and 
reforestation  have  seemingly  gone  hand  in  hand  with  de- 
crease and  increase  of  rainfall,  the  possible  secular  change  in 
rainfall  must  also  be  considered.  Yet  the  experience  of  in- 
creased rainfall  over  the  station  at  Lintzel,  with  increase  of 
forest  area,  points  strongly  toward  a  possible  interdependence 
under  given  conditions. 

By  condensing  dew,  hoar  frost,  and  ice  on  their  branches, 
trees  add  thereby  a  little  to  the  precipitation  which  reaches 
the  ground,  and  by  preventing  the  rapid  melting  of  snow 
more  water  remains  available  under  forest  cover. 

The  question  as  to  the  march  of  destructive  hailstorms  with 
reference  to  forest  areas,  which  seems  settled  for  some  regions 
in  France,  remains  in  doubt  for  other,  especially  mountain, 
regions. 

From  these  statements  we  would  expect  as  a  consequence 
of  deforestation  an  effect  on  tlie  climate  of  the  deforested  area 
in  three  directions,  namely  :  (a)  extremes  of  temperature  of  air 
as  well  as  soil  are  aggravated,  (d)  the  average  humidity  of  the 
air  is  lessened,  and  possibly  (c)  the  distribution  of  precipi- 
tation throughout  the  year,  if  not  its  quantity,  is  changed. 

Influence  of  Forests  upon  the  Climate  of  the 
Surrounding  Country. 

(i)  An  influence  of  the  forest  upon  the  climate  of  its  sur- 
roundings can  only  take  place  by  means  of  diffusion  of  the 
vapor  which  is  transpired  and  evaporated  by  the  crowns,  and 


440  APPENDIX. 

by  means  of  air  currents  passing  through  and  above  the  for- 
ests being  modified  in  temperature  and  moisture  conditions  ; 
the  mechanical  effect  upon  such  air  currents  by  which  they 
are  retarded  in  their  progress  may  also  be  effective  in  chang- 
ing their  climatic  value. 

(2)  Local  air  currents  are  set  up  by  the  difference  in  tem- 
perature of  the  air  within  and  without  the  forest,  analogously 
to  those  of  a  lake  or  pond,  cooler  currents  coming  from  the 
forest  during  the  day  in  the  lower  strata  and  warmer  currents 
during  the  night  in  the  upper  strata.  The  latter  currents, 
being  warmer  and  moister,  can  be  of  influence  on  the  tem- 
perature and  moisture  conditions  of  a  neighboring  field  by 
moderating  temperature  extremes  and  increasing  the  humidity 
of  the  air. 

This  local  circulation  is  the  one  most  important  difference 
between  forest  and  other  vegetation.  How  far  away  from  the 
forest  this  circulation  becomes  sensible  is  not  ascertained.  In 
winter  time,  when  the  temperature  differences  become  small, 
no  such  circulation  is  noticeable. 

(3)  The  general  air  currents  in  their  lower  portions  are  cut 
off  entirely  by  the  forest,  which  acts  as  a  wind-break.  This  in- 
fluence can  of  course  be  experienced  only  on  the  leeward  side. 
How  far  this  protection  reaches  it  is  difficult  to  estimate,  but 
it  certainly  reaches  farther  than  that  of  a  mere  wind-break, 
since  by  the  friction  of  the  air  moving  over  the  crowns  a 
retardation  must  be  experienced  that  would  be  noticeable  for 
a  considerable  distance  beyond  the  mere  wind-break  effect. 
Deforestation  on  a  large  scale  would  permit  uninterrupted 
sweep  of  the  winds,  a  change  more  detrimental  where  the 
configuration  of  the  ground  does  not  fulfil  a  similar  function 
—  in  large  plains  more  than  in  hilly  and  mountainous  regions, 
and  at  the  seashore  more  than  in  the  interior. 

In  an  experiment  made  by  F.  W.  King  in  Wisconsin  the 
evaporation  increased  with  the  distance  from  the  woods  up  to 
300  feet ;  the  difference  in  the  amount  at  a  station  only  20 
feet  from  the  protecting  forest  being  over  66  per  cent.     Even 


NOTES.  441 

behind  a  hedgerow,  6  to  8  feet  high,  a  difference  of  30  per  cent 
was  noted  in  the  same  distances.  Extensive  observations 
made  by  the  Canadian  Agricultural  Experiment  stations  show 
very  considerable  differences  in  crop  production  due  to  the 
effect  of  wind-breaks. 

The  upper  air  strata  can  be  modified  only  by  the  conditions 
existing  near  and  above  the  crowns.  At  the  same  time  they 
must  carry  away  the  cooler  and  moister  air  there  and  create 
an  upward  movement  of  the  forest  air,  and  thereby  in  part 
the  conditions  of  this  become  also  active  in  modifying  air  cur- 
rents. The  greater  humidity  immediately  above  the  crowns 
is  imparted  to  the  air  currents,  if  warm  and  dry,  and  becomes 
visible  at  night  in  the  form  of  mists  resting  above  and  near 
forest  areas.  These  strata  protect  the  open  at  least  against 
insolation  and  loss  of  water  by  evaporation,  and  have  also  a 
greater  tendency  to  condensation  as  dew  or  light  rain  if  con- 
ditions for  such  condensation  exist.  This  influence  can  be 
felt  only  to  the  leeward  in  summer  time,  and  with  dry,  warm 
winds,  while  the  cooling  winter  effect  upon  comparatively 
warmer  moist  winds  is  not  noticeable.  Theoretical  considera- 
tions lead  to  the  conclusion  that  in  mountain  regions  only  the 
forest  on  the  leeward  slope  can  possibly  add  moisture  to  a 
wind  coming  over  the  mountain,  but  this  does  not  necessarily 
increase  the  precipitation  on  the  field  beyond.  Altogether, 
the  theoretical  considerations  are  as  yet  neither  proved  nor 
disproved  by  actual  observations,  and  as  to  rainfall,  the  ques- 
tion of  influence  on  the  neighborhood  is  still  less  settled  than 
that  of  precipitation  upon  forest  areas  themselves.  Wherever 
moisture-laden  winds  pass  over  extensive  forest  areas  the 
cooler  and  moister  condition  of  the  atmosphere  may  at  least 
not  reduce  the  possibility  of  condensation,  which  a  heated 
plain  would  do ;  but  observations  so  far  give  no  conclusive 
evidence  that  neighboring  fields  receive  more  rain  than  they 
otherwise  would. 

(4)  With  regard  to  comparative  temperatures  in  forest 
stations  and  open  stations  that  are  situated  not  far  apart  fi-om 


442  APPENDIX. 

each  other,  it  would  appear  that  the  forest  exerts  a  cooling 
influence,  but  that  more  detailed  conclusions  are  hindered  by 
the  consideration  that  the  ordinary  meteorological  station 
itself  is  somewhat  affected  by  neighboring  trees. 

The  study  of  the  stations  in  Asiatic  and  European  Russia 
seems  to  show  that  in  the  western  part  of  the  Old  World  the 
presence  of  large  forests  has  a  very  sensible  influence  on  the 
temperature.  Similar  studies  for  stations  in  the  United  States 
seem  to  show  that  our  thin  forests  have  a  slight  effect  in 
December,  but  a  more  decided  one  in  June.  It  appears  also 
that  our  wooded  regions  are  warmer  than  the  open  plains,  but 
there  is  no  positive  evidence  that  this  difference  of  tempera- 
ture is  dependent  upon  the  quantity  or  distribution  of  forests 
or  that  changes  in  temperature  have  occurred  from  this  cause. 

(5)  When  a  forest  encloses  a  small  area  of  land,  forming  a 
glade,  its  enclosed  position  brings  about  special  phenomena  of 
reflection  of  heat,  local  winds,  and  a  large  amount  of  shade. 
For  such  situations  it  is  found  that  the  mean  range  of  tem- 
perature is  larger  in  the  glade  than  in  the  open ;  the  glade 
climate  is  more  rigorous  than  the  climate  of  open  plains ;  the 
glade  is  cooler  and  its  diurnal  range  larger  during  the  spring, 
summer,  and  autumn. 

Favorable  influences  upon  moisture  conditions  of  the  air 
are  most  noticeable  in  localities  where  much  water  is  stored 
underground,  with  overlying  strata  which  are  apt  to  dry  when 
our  summer  drought  prevails.  Here  the  forest  growth  is 
able  to  draw  water  from  greater  depths,  and  by  transpiration 
return  it  to  the  atmosphere,  thereby  reducing  the  dryness 
and  possibly  inducing  precipitation.  In  moist  climates  this 
action  would  be  less  effective  or  of  no  use.  Hence  in  regions 
with  oceanic  climate,  with  moist  sea  winds,  like  England  and 
the  west  coasts  of  Europe  or  of  the  northern  United  States, 
deforestation  from  a  climatic  point  of  view  may  make  no 
appreciable  difference,  such  as  it  would  make  in  continenfa.' 
climates  like  the  interior  of  our  country,  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  Southern  California. 


NOTES.  443 

Whether  large  or  small  areas  of  forest  and  open  fields  alter 
nating,  or  what  percentage  of  forest  is  most  favorable,  can 
not  as  yet  be  discussed,  since  we  are  not  clearly  informed 
even  as  to  the  manner  and  the  amount  of  influence  which 
forest  cover  exercises.  In  general  we  may  expect  that  an 
alternation  of  large  forested  and  unforested  ai"eas  in  regions 
which  on  account  of  their  geographic  situation  have  a  dry  and 
rigorous  climate  is  more  beneficial  than  large  uninterrupted 
forest  areas,  which  would  fail  to  set  up  that  local  circulation 
which  is  brought  about  by  differences  in  temperature  and  per- 
mits an  exchange  of  the  forest  climate  to  the  neighboring 
field. 

More  recent  experiments  tend  to  modify  somewhat  the  con- 
clusions arrived  at  heretofore,  and  indicate,  as  has  been  sug- 
gested, that  the  differences  in  temperature  and  humidity  of 
woods  and  of  open  land  that  have  been  recorded  are  largely 
to  be  attributed  to  variability  of  instruments  and  of  readings, 
and  to  nonconformity  of  conditions. 

Even  the  well-planned  Austrian  experiments  have  produced 
neither  striking  nor  consistent  results.  In  1893  Dr.  Lorentz 
Liburnau  concluded  that  forests  did  not  cool  the  air  of  the 
surrounding  country,  and  that  temperature  extremes  were 
even  heightened  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  woods. 
Concerning  humidity,  it  was  found  that  while  with  one  set  of 
stations  this  appeared  increased  by  an  uncertain  trifle  through 
the  proximity  of  the  forest,  in  another  set  no  influence  was 
observed,  and  in  one  case  the  air  current  from  the  woods  was 
positively  drier  at  noontime  than  that  of  the  open  country, 
and  even  though  Lorentz  Liburnau  is  still  hopeful  in  the  mat- 
ter, he  felt  compelled  to  admit  that  a  ''distance  effect"  of 
forest  influence  was  so  far  not  demonstrated. 

Schubert,  in  1895  and  again  in  1897,  published  results  of 
extensive  temperature  measurements  which  point  to  an  entire 
absence  of  influence  in  this  respect,  the  air  of  the  forest  being 
in  no  case  sufficiently  cooler  to  warrant  a  decision.  His  ex- 
periments gave  a  difference  of  only  5°  F.  in  favor  of  the  pine 


444  APPENDIX. 

woods.  This  author  came  to  practically  the  same  con- 
clusion regarding  the  humidity  of  the  forest  and  the  open 
country. 

Influence  of  Forests  upon  Water  and  Soil 
Conditions. 

(i)  In  consequence  of  deforestation,  evaporation  from  the 
soil  is  augmented  and  accelerated,  resulting  in  unfavorable 
conditions  of  soil  humidity  and  affecting  unfavorably  the  size 
and  continuity  of  springs.  The  influence  of  forest  cover  upon 
the  flow  of  springs  is  due  to  this  reduced  evaporation  as  well 
as  to  the  fact  that  by  the  protecting  forest  cover  the  soil  is 
kept  granular  and  allows  more  water  to  penetrate  and  perco- 
late than  would  otherwise.  In  this  connection,  however,  it  is 
the  condition  of  the  forest  floor  that  is  of  greatest  importance. 
Where  the  litter  and  humus  mould  is  burned  up,  as  in  many  if 
not  most  of  our  mountain  forests,  this  favorable  influence  is 
largely  destroyed,  although  the  trees  are  still  standing. 

(2)  Snow  is  held  longer  in  the  forest  and  its  meldng  is  re- 
tarded, giving  longer  time  for  filtration  into  the  ground,  which 
also  being  frozen  to  less  depth  is  more  apt  to  be  open  for  sub- 
terranean drainage.  Altogether  forest  conditions  favor  in 
general  larger  subterranean  and  less  surface  drainage,  yet  the 
moss  or  litter  of  the  forest  floor  retains  a  large  part  of  the  pre- 
cipitation and  prevents  its  filtration  to  the  soil,  and  thus  may 
diminish  the  supply  to  springs.  This  is  especially  possible 
with  small  precipitations.  Of  copious  rains  and  large  amounts 
of  snow  water,  quantities,  greater  or  less,  penetrate  the  soil, 
and  according  to  its  nature  into  lower  strata  and  to  springs. 
This  drainage  is  facilitated  not  only  by  the  numerous  chan- 
nels furnished  by  dead  and  living  roots,  but  also  by  the  influ- 
ence of  the  forest  cover  in  preserving  the  loose  and  porous 
structure  of  the  soil. 

Although  the  quantity  of  water  offered  for  drainage  on 
naked  soil  is  larger,  and  although  a  large  quantity  is  utilized 


NOTES.  445 

by  the  trees  in  the  process  of  growth,  yet  the  influence  of  the 
soil  cover  in  retarding  evaporation  is  liable  to  offset  this  loss, 
as  the  soil  cover  is  not  itself  dried  out. 

The  forest,  then,  even  if  under  unfavorable  topographical 
and  soil  conditions  (steep  slopes  and  impermeable  soils)  it 
may  not  permit  larger  quantities  of  water  to  drain  off  under- 
ground and  in  springs,  can  yet  influence  their  constancy  and 
equable  flow  by  preventing  loss  from  evaporation. 

(3)  The  surface  drainage  is  retarded  by  the  uneven  forest 
floor  more  than  by  any  other  kind  of  soil  cover.  Small  pre- 
cipitations are  apt  to  be  prevented  from  running  off  superficially 
through  absorption  by  the  forest  floor.  In  case  of  heavy  rain- 
falls this  mechanical  retardation  in  connection  with  greater 
subterranean  drainage  may  reduce  the  danger  from  freshets  by 
preventing  the  rapid  collection  into  nins.  Yet  in  regions  with 
steep  declivities  and  impermeable  soil  such  rains  may  be  shed 
superficially  and  produce  freshets  in  spite  of  the  forest  floor, 
and  an  effect  upon  water  conditions  can  exist  only  from  the 
following  consideration. 

(4)  The  well-kept  forest  floor,  better  than  even  the  close 
sod  of  a  meadow,  prevents  erosion  and  abrasion  of  the 
soil  and  the  washing  of  soil  and  detritus  into  brooks  and 
rivers. 

This  erosion  is  especially  detrimental  to  agricultural  inter- 
ests as  well  as  waterflow  in  regions  with  thin  surface  and  im- 
penetrable subsoils,  and  where  rains  are  apt  to  be  explosive 
in  their  occurrence,  as  in  our  western  and  southern  country. 
The  best  soil  of  the  farms  is  often  washed  into  the  rivers,  and 
the  water  stages  of  the  latter,  by  the  accumulations  of  this  soil, 
are  influenced  unfavorably. 

(5)  Water  stages  in  rivers  and  streams  which  move  outside 
the  mountain  valleys  are  dependent  upon  such  a  complication 
of  climatic,  topographic,  geological,  and  geographical  condi- 
tions at  the  head  waters  of  their  affluents  that  they  withdraw 
themselves  from  a  direct  correlation  to  surface  conditions 
alone.     Yet  it  stands  to  reason  that  the  conditions  at  the  head 


446  APPENDIX. 

waters  of  each  affluent  must  ultimately  be  reflected  in  the  flow 
of  the  main  river.  The  temporary  retention  of  large  amounts 
of  water  and  eventual  change  into  subterranean  drainage 
which  the  well-kept  forest  floor  produces,  the  consequent 
lengthening  in  the  time  of  flow,  and  especially  the  prevention 
of  accumulation  and  carrying  of  soil  and  detritus  which  are 
deposited  in  the  river  and  change  its  bed,  would  at  least  tend 
to  alleviate  the  dangers  from  abnormal  floods  and  reduce  the 
number  and  height  of  regular  floods. 

Concerning  the  moisture  of  the  soil  the  results  of  the  most 
recent  experiments  differ.  Ramann,  in  1895,  published  a  se- 
ries of  results  which  indicated  that  the  soil  of  the  forest  may 
be  even  drier  than  that  of  the  neighboring  open  land.  This 
view  he  finds  strengthened  by  experiments  made  in  small 
clearings  within  the  forest,  where  he  finds  the  soil  of  the 
sunny  side  of  the  clearing  and  that  of  the  old  forest  itself 
decidedly  drier  than  the  soil  of  the  shaded  part  of  the  clear- 
ing, though  he  also  finds  the  soil  under  a  young  bush  cover 
more  moist  than  that  under  old  timber. 

Whether  a  forest  cover  aids  in  the  accumulation  of  ground 
water  by  improving  the  permeability  of  the  soil  was  made  the 
object  of  an  experiment  by  Wollny,  in  a  series  of  inconclusive 
small  pot  experiments  which  led  this  investigator  to  the  ques- 
tionable result  that  bare  land  was  more  conducive  to  percola- 
tion than  ground  covered  either  by  grass  or  trees.  This 
would  surely  be  true  only  if  the  bare  ground,  as  in  the  experi- 
ments, is  kept  in  an  artificial,  not  natural,  condition. 

Attempts  to  deduce  the  influence  of  forest  on  waterflow 
from  wholesale  measurements  and  observations  have  been 
made  in  this  country  by  Vermeule,  of  New  Jersey  (see 
Proceedings  American  Forestry  Association,  Vol.  XI,  pp. 
130-137,  and  report  of  New  Jersey  Geological  Survey,  1894), 
and  Rafter,  of  New  York  (Proceedings  of  American  Forestry 
Association,  Vol.  XII.  pp.  139-165,  and  report  of  State  engi- 
neer and  surveyorof  New  York,  i8g6),the  former  claiming  that 
no  appreciable  influence  existed,  the  latter  calculating  the  influ- 


NOTES. 


447 


ence  of  the  forest  to  be  equal  in  value  to  five  or  six  inches 
of  rainfall,  this  amount  of  moisture  being  saved  by  its 
presence. 

Among  recent  papers  which  possess  the  highest  value  in 
describing  the  movements  of  water  in  the  ground,  and  thus 
throw  light  on  a  most  important  phase  of  the  whole  subject, 
Bulletin  32  of  the  Experiment  Station,  Fort  Collins,  Colo.,  by 
Professor  L.  G.  Carpenter,  is  noteworthy.  Professor  Carpen- 
ter shows  that  it  is  possible  by  mechanical  means  (ditches  in 
this  case)  to  prevent  the  rapid  run-off  in  high-water  time  and 
thus  produce  a  steadier  flow  of  a  stream  and  also  raise  the 
level  of  the  ground  water,  as  well  as  saturate  large  areas  of 
otherwise  arid  land.  In  other  words,  he  shows  that  in  Colo- 
rado the  work  of  irrigation  has  resulted  in  a  rise  in  the  level 
of  the  ground  water,  changing  deep  wells  into  shallow  ones  ; 
that  it  has  taken  water  out  of  the  Platte  and  Cache  la  Poudre 
rivers,  and  saturated  thousands  of  acres  of  formerly  arid  land, 
the  seepage  of  which  has  changed  dry  branches  into  steady 
rivulets,  and  supplies  already  a  steady  inflow  into  the  rivers, 
from  which  the  water  is  taken  above  the  fields.  This  inflow 
tends  to  make  these  rivers  steady  and  uniform  sources  of 
water  supply,  and  makes  irrigation  possible  at  points  below 
where  in  former  times  such  irrigation  would  have  been  out  of 
the  question. 

P.  78.  Sanitary  Influence.  —  The  theories  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  various  pathogenic  bacilli  in  the  soil  which  were 
based  on  Pettenkoffer's  authority  have  lately  been  discarded, 
and  the  origin  of  malaria  has  also  experienced  a  diff"erent  ex- 
planation by  some  authorities.  The  general  statement  that 
the  forest  soils,  being  removed  from  the  contact  with  man's 
occupations,  is  usually  less  favorable  to  the  propagation  of 
pathogenic  microbes  remains  true,  and  at  least  this  indirect 
relation  of  soil  conditions  to  malaria  exists,  namely,  that  the 
mosquito,  which  is  considered  the  direct  breeder  of  the  disease, 
is  dependent  for  its  development  on  swampy  conditions  of 
soil,  stagnant  water,  pools,  etc. 


448  APPENDIX. 


NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   IV. 

P.  8i.  The  etymology  of  the  word  "forests"  is  doubtful. 
It  is  only  certain  that  it  is  not,  as  has  sometimes  been  claimed, 
of  Latin,  but  of  Germanic  origin,  as  is  evidenced  from  a 
manuscript  of  Zwentibold :  "ut  quandum  silvam  in  bannum 
mitteremus  et  ex  ea,  sicut  Franci  dicunt,  forestem  face- 
remus." 

The  unquestionable  connection  between  vo};  first,  f'llrst 
and  forst,  which  was  originally  written  voorst  (also  vorst, 
vorest,  forest,  foreht,  foreis),  suggests  the  meaning  attached  to 
the  word  originally,  namely,  a  piece  of  property  set  aside  for 
the  use  of  the  king  or  "  Fiirst." 

Other  etymologists  have  tried  to  relate  the  term  foresta  to 
fercB  (wild  animals),  ferarwn  statio,  and  to  foris  (outside), 
referring  either  to  game  preserves  or  to  location  outside  the 
range  of  the  settled  country.  Lately  again  the  word  has  been 
referred  to  the  Latin  forus,  a  subdivided  area.  It  is  claimed 
that  the  original  meaning,  namely,  "  restriction  of  the  chase," 
was  of  Roman  origin. 

According  to  others  the  old  German  word  signified  "  wood- 
land," and  only  in  the  sixth  and  seventh  century  was  specially 
applied  to  the  woodland  owned  by  the  kings  or  masters,  and 
gradually  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries  assumed  the 
restricted  sense  of  reserved  woodlands,  and  finally  of  the 
mere  legal  condition  and  rights. 

P.  83.  Foresters  {forestarii)  and  forest  guards  {aistodes 
ftemoris)  are  mentioned  first  under  the  Carolingians  as  hav- 
ing charge  of  the  forest  property  of  the  kings  or  lords  under 
the  supervision  of  the  majordomo ;  they  had  at  first  only 
police  functions,  and  were  often  taken  from  the  serfs.  It 
was  much  later  that  their  functions  assumed  a  technical 
character. 

P.  84.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  historical  develop- 
ment of  the  forestry  idea   in  England   and   in  the  United 


NOTES. 


449 


States  by  a  comparison  of  the  lexicographers  from  period 
to  period. 

Richardson's  New  Dictionary  of  1846  defines  a  forest  still 
as  "a  great  and  privileged  wood  or  woody  wilderness; 
some  (Frenchmen)  have  generally  interpreted  it  as  a  place 
whereto  access  and  entry  is  forbidden  by  the  owner  unto 
others,  and  hence  it  seems  that  privileged  fishing  or  large 
waters  (wherein  none  but  the  lords  thereof  could  fish)  were 
also  termed  forests." 

Webster's  Dictionary  in  1863  did  not  contain  the  word 
"forestry"  at  all;  '"forester"  was  defined  as  (i)  an  officer 
appointed  to  watch  a  forest  or  chase,  and  to  preserve  game 
and  institute  suit  of  trespass  ;  (2)  an  inhabitant  of  the  forest ; 
(3)  a  forest  tree. 

Forest  was  defined  as  (i)  "an  extensive  wood  or  a  large 
tract  of  land  covered  with  trees.  In  America  usually  applied 
to  a  wood  of  native  growth  or  a  tract  of  woodland  which  has 
never  been  cultivated.  It  differs  from  'woods'  chiefly  in  ex- 
tent." The  second  meaning  refers  to  the  legal  term,  as 
explained  in  the  text. 

The  edition  of  1880  gives  essentially  the  same  definitions 
for  forest  and  forester,  but  contains  also  "  Forestry :  The  art 
of  forming  or  managing  forests.     (Rare.)  " 

In  1 891  the  rarity  of  the  word  "forestry"  seems  to  have 
been  overcome,  the  definition  of  forest  remains  the  same ; 
a  forester  has  become  "one  who  has  charge  of  the  grow- 
ing timber  on  an  estate,"  etc.,  and  forestry  is  "  the  art  of 
forming  or  cultivating  forests ;  the  management  of  growing 
timber." 

Even  the  Standard  Dictionary  of  1895  finds  it  still  necessary 
to  explain  that  its  definition,  "  forestry,  the  art  of  developing 
and  managing  forests,"  is  based  upon  Professor  Ely's  use  of 
the  word  when  referring  to  New  York  state  having  acquired 
forests  in  the  Adirondacks  and  having  entered  upon  forestry, 
and  that  its  definition  of  a  forester  as  "  one  who  has  charge 
of  a  forest  or  of  its  timber,  one  who  is  versed  in  forestry,"  is 

2G 


450  APPENDIX. 

based  upon  the  use  of  the  word  in  the  Report  of  the  U.S. 
Forestry  Division  for  1886.  Nor  is  the  definition  of  ''  forest" 
any  more  certain  of  its  propriety,  lacking  in  definiteness  :  ''  a 
large  tract  of  land  covered  with  a  natural  growth  of  trees  and 
underbrush ;  a  large  wood,  woodland,  often  with  intervening 
spaces  of  open  grounds." 


NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   V. 

P.  113.  Labor  in  Forestry.  —  The  labor  statistics  of  Ger- 
many for  1895  show  one  laborer  employed  to  310  acres  in  for- 
estry and  one  to  10.6  acres  in  agriculture  —  a  still  greater 
labor-intensity  in  agriculture  than  indicated  by  the  figures  in 
the  text,  which  were  drawn  from  less  complete  statistics. 
Altogether  352,566  people  were  deriving  their  living  directly 
or  indirectly  from  forestry,  besides  900,000  in  sawmills  and 
woodworking  industries,  while  17.8  millions  were  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits. 

P.  116.  Forest  Labor  in  the  United  States.  —  In  the  United 
States,  according  to  the  census  of  1900,  there  were  382,840 
wage-earners  besides  14,333  clerks  or  other  officials  earning 
$153,000,000,  and  43,322  proprietors  engaged  in  forest  ex- 
ploitation and  sawmills  and  planing-mills,  the  wage-earners 
varying  through  the  year  from  350  to  650  thousand.  In  logging 
operations  alone  there  were  employed  besides  2400  salaried 
ofiScials  and  clerks  on  the  average  121  thousand  wage-earners, 
varying  from  month  to  month  between  90  and  156  thousand, 
the  largest  number  being  employed  in  January  and  February, 
the  smallest  in  July ;  the  wages  paid  to  these  amounted  to 
$46,000,000.  Translating  the  35  billion  feet,  board  measure, 
produced  roughly  into  acreage,  say  6  million  acres  represent- 
ing the  harvest  area,  there  was  one  man  employed  for  every 
50  acres  cut  over,  giving  rise  to  a  labor  earning  of  over  $7  per 
acre ;   or,  if  we  accept   500  million  acres  as  the  productive 


NOTES.  451 

orest  area,  each  4000  acres  of  these  furnish  employment  for 
one  man  in  the  harvest  alone,  for  twice  the  number  in  the 
mills,  and  three  times  the  number  in  woodworking  establish- 
ments. 

Pp.  116  and  131.  The  Farmer's  Wood-lot.  —  The  farmer's 
wood-lot  has  its  unquestionable  value  to  the  farmer  and  to  the 
farm,  not  only  in  furnishing  fuel  and  repair  material,  and  in 
giving  occupation  during  the  leisure  of  winter,  but  also  in 
producing  values  from  those  portions  of  the  farm  which  are 
unfit  for  agriculture,  if  he  owns  such,  and  in  the  indirect 
benefits  from  preventing  soil  washes,  and  from  its  wind-break 
effects,  if  properly  placed. 

Silviculturally  the  farmer's  wood-lot  is  at  a  disadvantage,  on 
account  of  its  isolation  and  small  size.  It  is,  therefore,  con- 
stantly wind-swept,  and  unless  particular  care  is  taken  to 
maintain  a  wind-mantle  on  the  outskirts,  the  soil  is  apt  to 
deteriorate,  reproduction  is  made  difficult,  and  danger  from 
windfall  is  intensified. 

The  time-element  involved  rules  out  the  wood-lot  from 
timber  production  ;  the  coppice  and  standard  coppice  manage- 
ment for  the  production  of  fuel  wood  and  small  dimensions 
alone  fits  the  small  farmer's  condition,  and  if  in  reach  of  a 
market  for  these,  may  prove  very  profitable.  Timber  produc- 
tion is  practically  not  a  business  for  small  areas,  although 
theoretically  and  under  peculiar  conditions  in  practice  is  not 
impossible. 

P.  122.  'Provided  the  Litter  is  Left.' — The  fallen  leaves, 
twigs,  bark,  and  other  litter,  decaying,  form  a  mulch,  which, 
covering  the  soil,  preserves  the  soil  water  from  being  evapo- 
rated and  keeps  the  soil  in  granular,  permeable  condition, 
most  favorable  to  water  conduction.  Besides,  the  largest 
amount  of  the  mineral  constituents  which  the  trees  have 
pumped  up  from  the  soil  is  stored  in  these  youngest  parts, 
which  are  returned  to  the  soil  as  the  litter  decays  and  forms 
tlie  humus.  In  the  average  there  are  annually  returned  by  the 
fall  of  leaves  and  litter  in  a  dense  forest  from  1800  to  4500 


452 


APPENDIX. 


pounds  per  acre,  containing,  according  to  kind  and  condition 
of  growth  and  soil,  from  24  to  220  pounds  of  minerals,  potash, 
phosphoric  acid,  magnesia,  lime,  etc.,  and  12  to  60  pounds  of 
nitrogen,  the  whole  equivalent  to  not  less  than  20  to  30 
cents  or  more  of  fertilizer. 

This  accounts  for  the  well-known  fertility  of  fresh  forest 
soils,  which  have  accumulated  these  minerals  in  the  surface 
layers. 

A  large  literature  on  the  subject  of  forest  litter  has  been 
occasioned  in  Germany,  owing  to  the  conflicting  interests  of 
foresters  and  small  farmers  who  desire  to,  and  by  necessity 
do,  assist  their  scant  crops  by  this  forest  manure,  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  forest  crop. 

P.  134.  Results  of  Forest  Management  in  Saxony,  and 
other  state  forest  administrations.  —  The  most  intensive 
management  is  possible  in  this  densely  populated  and  highly 
industrial  portion  of  Germany.  The  periodic  changes 
from  1817,  when  a  systematic  forest  management  had  only 
been  begun,  through  the  century  are  exhibited  in  the  fol- 
lowing tabulation,  giving  results  per  acre  on  about  430,000 
acres. 


1817  26. 

1854  63. 

1884-93. 

Felling  budget,  cubic  feet 

60 

70 

90 

Timber  wood,  per  cent  . 

17 

48 

79 

Gross  revenue,  dollars   , 

1-75 

3-54 

6.67 

Expenditures,  dollars     . 

.80 

1. 15 

2.30 

Net  revenue,  dollars 

•95 

2-39 

4-37 

Revenue    per    $1    expended, 

dollars        .... 

2.20 

3.10 

2.90 

NOTES. 


453 


The  net  revenues  in  all  the  other  German  state  forest  ad- 
ministrations have  risen  in  similar  manner,  namely,  in  dollars 
per  each  acre  under  management :  — 


Year. 

Prussia. 

Bavaria. 

Saxony. 

Wiirtem- 
berg. 

Baden. 

1830 

•44 

.46 

I. ID 

.82 

I.61 

1850 

.46 

■65 

1.63 

I. II 

2.96 

1870 

.87 

1.99 

2.45 

2.62 

4.18 

1875 

1.20 

2. II 

5.48 

4.22 

2.39 

1880 

.92 

1.29 

4.08 

2.66 

3-25 

1890 

1.30 

1.90 

5-17 

3-33 

370 

1895 

1.03 

1.74 

4-33 

3.81 

4.14 

1897 

1. 19 

5.10 

4.29 

These  figures  show  the  influence  of  boom  prices  following 
the  Franco-German  war,  but  the  agricultural  depression  of  the 
last  decade  in  Germany,  although  noticeable  in  its  effects  on 
wood  prices,  has  hardly  interrupted  the  constant  increase  in 
the  net  yields  of  forestry. 

The  gross  yields  of  these  forest  properties  contribute  to  the 
total  gross  budgets  of  the  state  administrations  in  Prussia, 
4-5  per  cent;  Bavaria,  9-10  per  cent ;  Saxony,  13-14  per  cent ; 
Wiirtemberg,  16  per  cent;  Baden,  8  per  cent;  Austria,  0.7 
per  cent ;  France.  0.7  per  cent ;  Russia,  1.6  per  cent. 

A  further  proof  of  the  efficiency  of  forest  management  is 
to  be  found  not  only  in  the  greater  total  wood  production  per 
acre,  which  has  been  secured  in  all  states  by  careful  manage- 
ment similarly  to  that  recorded  for  Saxony  on  p.  452,  but 
also  in  the  larger  proportion  of  timber  wood  (over  3  inches 
diameter)  which  is  coming  to  harvest,  in  part  at  least  as  a 
result  of  improved  silviculture. 


454  APPENDIX. 

This  timber  wood  per  cent  increased  as  follows 


Year. 

Prussia. 

Bavaria. 

Saxony. 

WUrtem- 
berg. 

Baden. 

1850      .... 

26 

17 

35 

26 

24 

i860      .... 

29 

19 

45 

32 

28 

1870      .... 

30 

32 

61 

40 

34 

1880      .... 

29 

32 

75 

39 

35 

1890       .... 

47 

48 

80 

54 

42 

1895       .... 

50 

50 

79 

53 

44 

The  total  net  income  from  all  the  German  state  forests  is 
$1.80  per  acre,  or  $63,000,000.  Of  this  gross  yield,  65  per 
cent  is  for  timber  wood,  from  3-10  per  cent  for  by-products, 
the  balance  for  inferior  wood  materials. 

How  well  deserved  the  reputation  of  the  German  forest 
administrations  and  financially  how  wise  their  maintenance 
has  been  may  be  judged  by  a  comparison  with  other  forest 
administrations.  While  in  1890  the  German  forest  adminis- 
trations showed  a  net  revenue  varying  from  $1.30  to  $4.46 
per  acre,  and  in  the  average  $1.80,  the  state  forests  of  the 
following  countries  yielded  per  acre  in  the  period  stated  :  — 


France 1897     .     . 

Austria 1887-1893 

Hungary 1 885-1 894 

Russia 1896     .     . 

Sweden 1894      .     . 

Italy 1893      .     . 

Spain 1892      .     . 


$1.05 
.168 
•32 
.02 
.48 
•33 
.172 


In  France,  which  comes  nearest  to  the  German  results,  a 
decline  of  gross  yields  has  been  noticeable  in  the  last  40  years. 
The  decade  of   1 860-1 869   showed   a   total   yield   of  round 


NOTES. 


455 


$8,000,000  average  per  year,  while  the  following  decades 
showed  the  averages  of  7,  5.5,  5.4,  5.7,  respectively  ;  the  cause 
of  it  being  probably,  in  the  main,  the  change  from  timber 
forest  to  coppice. 

In  Russia  a  constant  increase  in  receipts  during  the  last  15 
to  20  years  is  the  result  of  an  improved  forest  administration ; 
every  increase  in  expenditures  bringing  more  than  a  com- 
mensurate result. 

This  is  brought  out  significantly  by  a  comparison  of  yearly 
net  yields  and  expenditures  which  were  from  1885  to  1896:  — 


Expenditures. 

Net  revenue. 

Million  Rubel. 

Million  Rubel. 

1885      ..... 

549 

8. 

1886 

548 

8.2 

1887 

5.60 

8.5 

1888 

5-57 

10.4 

1889 

5.80 

12.8 

1890 

6.09 

I2.I 

I89I 

6.24 

II-3 

1892 

6.31 

131 

1893 

6.50 

15.9 

1894 

6.89 

19.6 

1895 

7-35 

22.1 

1896 

776 

26.5 

The  German  administrations  also  show  this  relation  of 
expenditure  to  net  revenues.  Not  only  has  every  increase 
in  expenditure  in  each  state  produced  greater  efficiency  (see 
p.  327),  but  the  net  results  from  state  to  state  are  almost  in 
direct  relation  to  the  expenditure,  as  will  appear  when  com- 
paring the  table  of  net  yields  with  the  following  table  of 
expenditures.  The  total  expenditures  are  for  the  period  from 
1 880  to  1896,  the  expenditures  for  administration  alone  for 


456 


APPENDIX. 


the  period  from  1890  to  1896,  except  for  Prussia,  for  which 
the  periods  end  in  1892  :  — 


Total   expenditures  per 

acre,  dollars      .     .     . 

1.10-1.30 

Per  cent  of  gross 

revenue 

50-57 

Administration  expense 

per  acre,  dollars    .     . 

•55 

Per  cent  of  gross 

revenue 

21. s 

1.50-2.40 

47-68 

■87-.93 
20.5-26  8 


Saxony. 


2.10-2.70 

32-39 
•95 
14 


Wurter 
berg. 


2.20-2.50 

39-51 


48-65 
.56 


In  the  expenditures  there  are  absorbed  by  woodchoppers 
15-18  per  cent  of  the  income  from  wood  sales.  For  planting 
alone  the  following  expenditures  per  acre  of  forest  were  in- 
curred in  1894-1895:  Prussia,  22  cents;  Bavaria,  6.5  cents; 
Saxony,  14  cents;  Wiirtemberg,  17. i  cents;  Baden,  18.8 
cents.  This  means  not  per  acre  planted,  but  per  acre  under 
management. 

P.  138.  Rise  in  Wood  Prices.  —  A  very  careful  and  exhaus- 
tive investigation  into  the  movement  of  prices  for  wood  and 
for  agricultural  products  in  Prussia,  comprising  the  fifty  years 
from  1830  to  1880  (by  Dr.  Fr.  Jentsch  in  Zeitschrift  fur 
Forst-  unci  Jagdwesen,  1887,  pp.  91-108),  during  which  time 
the  price  for  wood  (average)  rose  74  per  cent,  namely,  from 
2\  cents  to  4^  cents  per  cubic  foot,  brings  out  the  following 
facts :  — 

1.  The  tendency  of  prices  for  agricultural  products  as  well 
as  for  wood  has  been  toward  a  rise. 

2.  Prices  for  wood  have  increased  more  rapidly  than  those 
of  the  staples  wheat  and  rye  (imports!),  less  rapidly  than  of 
potatoes,  beef,  and  butter. 

3.  Prices  for  wood  have  risen  more  steadily  than  those  for 
agricultural  products. 


NOTES. 


457 


4.  The  relation  between  prices  for  wood  and  for  wheat  and 
rye  shows  a  tendency  in  favor  of  greater  rise  in  profits  from 
forestry  than  from  grain  production. 

5.  Prices  promise  to  rise  further  for  an  indeterminable 
time. 

This  last  prediction  seems  so  far  to  have  proved  correct,  as 
the  following  records  from  Upper  Bavaria  show.  As  an 
average  result  of  yearly  sales,  round  timber,  f.  o.  b.  boat, 
brought  in  — 


Cents 

Cents 

Year. 

per 

Year. 

per 

cu.  ft. 

cu.  ft. 

1886 

2.2 

1896 

2.83 

1890 

2-33 

1897 

2.98 

1894 

2-93 

The  prices  for  boards  (i  inch,  16-foot  lengths)  was  per 
Mft.,  B.M.:  — 


Widths     .... 

6  in. 

8  in. 

xoin. 

12  in. 

In  1886     .     .     . 
In  1897     .     .     . 

$12.50 
15.00 

$13-60 
17.25 

$15-75 
18.00 

$13-75 
20.00 

To  gain  an  idea  of  the  appreciation  of  the  wood  product, 
without  reference  to  kind,  size,  and  quality,  the  following 
series  of  figures  will  serve  :  — 

Average  Price  per  100  Cubic  Feet  of  Wood  realized 
BY  the  Prussian  Government  for  its  Entire  Crop 
(about  300,000,000  Cubic  Feet). 

1850 $3.27 

1855 3-66 

i860 3.69 


458  APPENDIX. 

Average  Price  per  ioo  Cubic  Feet  of  Wood  Realized 
BY  THE  Prussian  Government  for  its  Entire  Crop 
(ABOUT  300,000,000  Cubic  Feet)  —  Continued. 

1865 $471 

1870 4-35 

1875 5-21 

1880 4-47 

1885 4-30 

1890 440 

The  highest  price  for  any  district  was  obtained  in  1888, 
being  $8.49,  while  the  lowest  was  $2.82.  The  lower  prices 
in  later  years  are  explained  by  the  increased  importations  of 
wood,  especially  from  Hungary,  Russia,  and  Sweden. 

The  influence  which  development  of  means  of  transporta- 
tion exercises  on  wood  prices  is  interestingly  exhibited  in  a 
comparison  of  the  price  prevailing  in  the  district  with  lowest 
and  the  district  with  highest  price,  in  Prussia.  This  relation 
changed  during  the  last  thirty  years  as  follows,  taking  100  for 
the  lowest  price:  i860,  100:600;  1870,  100:380;  1880, 
100 :  300 ;  1890,  100  :  220.  In  other  words,  the  range  of  price 
decreased  in  the  thirty  years  of  railroad  building  to  one-fourth 
of  the  original  one. 

In  1892  the  difference  in  prices  was  100:221,  when  timber 
wood  stood  100:267,  firewood  100:177,  while  rye,  the 
most  general  agricultural  crop,  showed  the  relation  of  100: 
116  in  the  lowest  and  highest  market  (a  range  of  only 
16  per  cent)  ;  the  bulkiness  of  the  wood  material  circum- 
scribing its  transportableness  probably  accounts  for  this  great 
difference. 

To  compare  prices  of  wood  in  America  no  better  means  are 
at  hand  than  the  record  of  export  prices  on  square  timber 
from  Canada,  which  brings  the  variable  item  of  cost  of  produc- 
tion to  a  minimum,  as  given  in  a  table  in  ''  Forest  Wealth  of 
Canada." 


NOTES, 
Cents  per  Cubic  Foot. 


459 


Year. 

White  pine. 

Oak. 

Elm. 

1850 

i860 

1870 

1880 

1890 

1894 

4-5  i' 
5^io 
8^-18 
14-36 

18-35 
16-42 

13-14 
14-17 
19-23 
43-52 
42-49 

45-51 

7-10 
71-14 

9-152^ 
23-30 
25-30 
25-32 

Rise 

Per  cent  per  annum 
approximately 

12-36 
7-18 

32-47 

5-  7 

18-22 

^5 

Showing  not  only  a  constant  increase  of  not  less  than  5  per 
cent  per  annum,  but  also  a  variation  in  range,  which  indicates 
reduction  in  the  supply  of  better  quality. 

The  price  of  logs  exported  from  Canada  during  the  25 
years  from  1878  to  1893  appreciated,  according  to  the  same 
authority  for  all  descriptions,  31^  per  cent,  and  for  pine  alone 
from  $5.40  to  $8.33  per  M  feet,  or  5.4  per  cent.  To  explain 
the  difference  of  these  prices  from  the  prices  for  square  timber, 
it  should  be  known  that  the  square  timber  goes  mostly  from 
Quebec  to  Great  Britain,  the  logs  mostly  from  Ontario  to  the 
United  States,  a  difference  in  market  and  location  which 
depresses  the  log  prices  disproportionately.  A  study  of  the 
prices  paid  for  timber  limits  in  Canada,  which  are  more  acces- 
sible than  such  data  with  us,  will  also  show  the  tendency  and 
the  rate  of  rising  prices  due  to  decrease  of  accessible  supplies. 

The  reduction  in  supplies  is  also  well  indicated  by  the 
change  in  the  size  of  merchantable  logs,  which,  in  the  seven 
years  from  1887  to  1893,  for  which  data  are  published  in  the 
above-cited  document,  changed  in  the  Province  of  Ontario  for 
pine  from  122.5  feet  B.M.  per  average  log  to  98.5,  and  for 
other  kinds  from  79  to  57  feet  B.M. 


460  APPENDIX. 


NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   VI. 

P.  144.  Acclimatization.  —  Acclimatization,  i.e.  use  of  ex- 
otic species  for  forest  growing,  has  been  sparingly  practised 
except  in  planting  where  nature  had  not  provided  any  native 
forest  flora,  the  reason  being  that  native  woods  usually  satisfy 
the  requirements,  and  that  the.  long  period  of  development 
before  the  real  character  of  the  wood  and  the  behavior  of  the 
plant  under  new  conditions  can  with  certainty  be  determined 
deters  the  attempts.  There  would,  however,  appear  to  have 
been  more  hesitation  than  necessary  on  this  last  account. 
Trees  which  have  lived  in  a  climate  for  a  decade  during  their 
infantile  and  youthful,  tenderest  stage,  and  behaved  as  in  their 
native  habitat,  are  not  likely  to  change  their  character  later. 
The  Germans  have  for  the  last  thirty  years  systematically 
tested  and  introduced  foreign,  especially  American,  species, 
with  considerable  satisfaction.  Our  white  pine  has  been  in 
existence  in  German  forest  plantations  for  over  one  hundred 
years  and  has  been  found  most  satisfactory.  In  Hungary 
over  170,000  acres  of  our  black  locust  furnish  to  the  wine- 
growers most  satisfactory  vineyard  stakes. 

While  it  may  still  be  considered  safest  to  rely  upon  the 
native  flora,  yet  if  exotics,  climatically  adapted,  promise  more 
rapid  growth,  larger  production,  silvicultural  qualities  or  quality 
of  wood  superior  to  the  native,  as  for  instance  the  Norway 
spruce,  it  is  proper  policy  to  supplant  the  inferior  native,  pro- 
vided that  no  more  is  expected  of  it  than  it  does  and  can  do 
in  its  native  home. 

P.  157.  Weight  Production  per  Acre.  —  It  is  to  be  under- 
stood that  this  equal  weight  production  of  various  species 
from  year  to  year  presupposes  the  species  to  be,  at  least  in 
general,  adapted  to  the  locality  or  site  and  climate;  moreover, 
this  statement  refers  only  to  the  actual  experience  with  Ger- 
man species  in  German  climate  and  soils.  This  experience 
merely  proves  the  self-evident  fact  that  the  same  amount  of 
water,  sunlight,  and  temperature  accessible  in  the  same  man- 


NOTES. 


461 


ner  produces  the  same  amount  of  wood  material  in  weight,  no 
matter  what  the  species.  The  volumes  would  then  vary  in- 
versely as  the  specific  gravity  or  weight  of  the  woods,  or 
v^:  v.2  =  -  '■  -,  which  is  also  borne  out  by  the  results  of  the 
German  measurements. 

P.  159.  Yield  Tables.  —  A  picture  of  the  progress  of  a  wood- 
crop  is  gained  from  the  study  of  the  so-called  yield  tables, 
which  give  the  contents  of  the  dominant  growth  of  fully 
stocked  stands  in  lo-year  periods.  For  each  species  and  dif- 
ference in  soil  and  climate  this  must  necessarily  vary,  hence 
normal  yield  tables  are  classified  into  five  site  classes.  In  re- 
ality there  is  rarely  such  a  full  stand  to  be  found  as  the  yield 
tables  give  ;  they  represent  the  attainable  maxima,  serving  as 
a  standard  of  comparison. 

The  following  tables  refer  to  first-class  sites,  and  show  the 
difference  in  production  between  shade-enduring  fir  and  spruce 
and  the  light-needing  pine.  An  approximation  to  a  statement 
of  saw  material  in  board  measure  can,  for  the  older  age  classes, 
be  obtained  by  multiplying  cubic  contents  by  2  to  3.  Only 
the  timber  wood  (over  3-inch)  is  stated,  and  the  amount  of 
material  to  be  derived  in  thinnings,  which  represents  from  20 
to  40  per  cent  of  the  final  harvest,  is  omitted. 

Yield  Table  of  Fir,  Site  Class  I. 


Age. 

Number 
of  trees. 

Average 
height,  ft. 

Volume, 
cu.  ft. 

Volume  increment. 

Average. 

Current. 

Per  cent. 

20 

5300 

17 

990 

50 

197 

26.1 

30 

2210 

31 

3.550 

1X8 

317 

8.4 

40 

1220 

43 

6.530 

163 

224 

3-2 

50 

750 

50 

8.615 

172 

172 

1.9 

60 

540 

6=; 

10.280 

171 

144 

1.4 

70 

410 

73 

11,675 

167 

125 

I.O 

80 

325 

81 

12,890 

161 

no 

.8 

90 

270 

88 

13.950 

155 

•7 

100 

230 

95 

14.890 

149 

86 

.6 

462 


APPENDIX. 


Yield  Table  of  Spruce,  Site  Class 


Number 

Average 
height,  ft. 

Volume 

Volume  increment. 

Age. 

of  trees. 

cu.  ft. 

Average. 

Current. 

Per  cent. 

20 

2560 

15 

987 

49 

98 

II. 0 

30 

1680 

34 

2,310 

78 

15s 

7-1 

40 

1050 

50 

4,200 

105 

211 

5-3 

50 

720 

60 

7,640 

119 

155 

2.7 

60 

510 

11, 

7,360 

123 

127 

i-S 

70 

380 

82 

8,560 

123 

113 

1.2 

80 

317 

92 

9,687 

121 

113 

•9 

90 

265 

99 

10,744 

120 

99 

.8 

100 

240 

105 

11,730 

117 

98 

•7 

Yield  Table  of  Scotch  Pine,  Site  Class 


Number 
of  trees. 

Average 
height,  ft. 

Volume, 
cu.  ft. 

Vol 

jme  increment. 

Age. 

Average. 

Current. 

Per  cent. 

20 

1700 

23 

775 

39 

98 

13.0 

30 

II70 

36 

2,185 

73 

138 

6.0 

40 

726 

50 

3,820 

95 

113 

3-0 

50 

510 

63 

5,000 

100 

94 

1.9 

60 

380 

72 

5,935 

99 

80 

1-3 

70 

300 

80 

6,700 

96 

66 

I.O 

80 

245 

86 

7,330 

91 

58 

.8 

90 

200 

92 

7,840 

87 

50 

.6 

100 

170 

93 

8,275 

83 

45 

•5 

The  average  maximum  total  wood  production  per  acre  per 
year  in  a  100-year  rotation  under  German  conditions,  for  Ger- 
man species,  German  forest  management,  and  for  different  site 


NOTES. 


463 


— 

—  Spru 

.e. 

Pine. 

Beech. 

-<• 

^ 

X 

1 

A/ 

/ 

^' 

/ 

^^ 

( 

\y 

•-''    ... 

-;>"•' 



/ 

/'y 

■.•""' 

'i\ 

A 

/..- 

/■^ 

^ 

^J: 

_ 

y 

') 

..<"• 

u 

'}Si?- 

b" 

,Jf 

^ 

b 

0 

^: 

'- 

"" 

CUBIC  n. 

180 


10       20       30        to       50 


70      80       00      100     110     120YEAR8 


Diagram  showing  comparative  progress  of  yields  of  spruce,  fir,  pine, 
and  beech,  on  best  and  poorest  site  classes. 

classes  may  be  stated  as  follows,  leaving  out  the  yield  in  the 
thinnings,  which  may  amount  to  as  much  as  40  per  cent  of 
the  final  harvest :  — 


Site  Class   .    .    . 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

cu.  ft. 

cu.  ft. 

cu.  ft. 

cu.  ft. 

cu.  ft. 

Scotch  Pine 

93 

70 

56 

45 

35 

Norway  Spruce .... 

154 

127 

99 

78 

56 

Silver  Fir 

158 

128 

102 

77 

Beech       

106 

85 

70 

50 

35 

By  multiplying  this  average  increment  by  100,  the  years 
of  rotation  (or  any  number  of  years  near  that  rotation),  the 
total  possible  harvest  per  acre  is  obtained.     It  appears  that 


464  APPENDIX. 

fir  and  spruce  are  the  best  producers,  beech  next,  and  pine, 
the  most  light-needing  species,  but  also  the  most  frugal  as  to 
soils,  produces  the  least.  Our  White  Pine  compares  probably 
more  nearly  to  the  spruce.  The  usual  actual  production  falls, 
to  be  sure,  considerably  below  these  figures.  The  entire  pro- 
duction of  wood  per  acre  of  all  the  German  forests  is  esti- 
mated as  50  cubic  feet;  per  acre  per  annum,  or  a  total  harvest 
of  1750  million  cubic  feet,  half  of  which  is  timber  wood  and 
probably  4  billion  feet  B.M.  saw  material.  For  France  the 
entire  product  is  estimated  at  356,000  million  feet,  or  less  than 
40  cubic  feet  per  acre. 

NOTES   TO    CHAPTER   VII. 

P.  177.  Sprouting  Capacity  of  Conifers.  —  The  only  conifer 
which  sprouts  vigorously  and  produces  shoots  growing  into 
trees  seems  to  be  the  Redwood  {Sequoia  sej/ipervirens)  of  our 
Pacific  coast.  Indeed,  the  peculiar  appearance  in  the  location 
of  some  of  the  old  giants  in  a  circle  suggests  that  these  even 
may  have  originated  as  sprouts  from  stumps  of  still  older 
trees. 

NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   VIII. 

P.  213.  Soil-rent  Theory.  Practicability  and  Profitable- 
ness of  Silviculture.  —  The  economic  basis  for  forest  manage- 
ment is  not  the  same  everywhere,  hence  the  methods  of 
calculating  the  productive  capacity  must  vary.  The  soil-rent 
idea  can  apply  only  in  highly  developed,  densely  populated 
countries,  where  the  closest  use  of  soils  is  imperative. 

Agriculture  is  not,  as  a  rule,  attempted  on  soils  which  do 
not  promise  a  satisfactory  return  or  soil  rent,  while  the  forest, 
finally,  is  relegated  to  the  agriculturally  useless  soils  which 
would  bring  no  rent  by  other  use.  On  account  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  transportation  of  forest  products,  location  is  of  more 
moment  than  the  natural  fertility  of  the  soil.  While  this 
limitation  may  be  overcome  by  the  building  of  roads  and  rail- 


NOTES.  465 

roads,  this  is  often  not  possible  or  financially  practicable. 
Hence,  areas  distant  from  market  may  contain  large  supplies  of 
timber  of  no  value  on  account  of  their  inaccessibility,  and  no 
fine  finance  calculation  is  practicable.  Under  such  conditions, 
when  not  even  crude  exploitation  pays,  forest  management 
upon  financial  basis  is  surely  excluded.  Such  properties  in- 
capable of  earning  a  rent  must  by  necessity  be  looked  upon 
differently  from  those  near  markets.  While  on  the  latter  it 
may  be  possible  to  institute  a  sustained  yield  management, 
the  former  may  only  be  carefully  exploited  without  too  much 
waste  and  some  attention  to  aftergrowth. 

NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   IX. 

P.  251.  Taxation  based  on  Productivity.  —  In  Germany 
no  attempt  is  made  to  induce  private  owners  to  conservative 
forest  management  by  reduction  of  taxes.  Forest  property  is 
taxed  like  all  other  property  upon  its  properly  ascertained 
value,  which,  however,  varies  in  diflferent  states.  There  is  a 
soil  tax  {grnndsteuer),  an  income  tax,  and  a  property  tax. 

The  soil  tax  is  determined  upon  the  premise  of  a  sustained 
yield  management  and  the  basis  of  productive  capacity  under 
such  management  —  "  not  to  be  gauged  according  to  accidental 
expenditures  or  improvements  or  neglects,  but  according  to  a 
natural  management  under  usual  and  generally  practised  dili- 
gence." The  yield  is  determined  upon  the  basis  of  the  usually 
applied  rotation  with  the  species  and  kind  of  management. 
But  it  is  the  yield  which  can  be  secured  under  these  circum- 
stances, not  the  yield  which  is  actually  secured,  upon  which  the 
tax  is  based,  so  that  the  good  manager  who  can  secure  a  yield 
higher  than  the  ordinary  one  is  benefited,  the  poor  manager 
who  allows  his  forest  to  deteriorate  is  punished.  Moreover, 
since,  as  we  have  seen,  wood  prices  and  net  yields  improve, 
the  older  tax  valuations  favor  the  owner. 

Since  the  forest  owner  not  only  possesses  the  soil,  but  in 
a  regulated  forest  management  also  the  accumulated  growing 

2H 


466  APPENDIX. 

stock  (see  p.  201)  which  represents  usually  75  to  85  per  cent  of 
the  total  forest  value,  he  is  by  so  much  richer  than  the  farmer 
on  similar  soil,  drawing  interest  not  only  on  the  soil  value  but 
also  on  this  accumulated  wood  property.  In  Bavaria  only  the 
soil  rent  furnishes  the  basis  for  taxation,  so  that  the  largest 
source  of  income,  the  wood  stock,  is  untaxed;  other  states 
recognize  this  principle,  hence  the  forest  pays  more  tax 
than  the  farm  on  soil  of  the  same  value  and  size.  Formerly 
this  was  not  done,  and  the  forest  owner  was  the  favored  tax- 
payer. In  Prussia  and  Hesse  the  intention  is  to  tax  the  soil 
rent  only,  but  by  peculiar  method  of  calculation  really  a  larger 
amount  is  taxed. 

In  Saxony  and  some  other  states  a  most  just,  elastic,  pro- 
gressive income  tax  for  intermittent  forest  management  is  in 
vogue,  which  is  collected  only  when  the  owner  receives  an  in- 
come, and  remains  unpaid  in  years  without  an  income  from  the 
forest.  No  regard  is  here  paid  as  to  what  part  of  the  forest 
property  is  responsible  for  the  income,  in  other  words,  the 
separation  of  wood  stock  and  soil  is  not  considered.  In 
Prussia,  on  the  other  hand,  the  income  from  a  decimation  of 
the  wood  stock  is  not  considered  as  liable  to  tax,  because  it  is 
merely  a  change  in  form  of  capital. 

Of  the  whole  forest  value  in  Germany  only  \  to  |-  is  charge- 
able to  soil,  soil  values  for  forest  purposes  rarely  exceeding 
$200  and  mostly  not  $100  per  acre  (see  p.  126). 

In  general  terms  the  tax  value  of  all  the  German  forests 
figured  at  3  per  cent  with  a  net  income  of  $63,000,000  assum- 
ing results  equal  to  state  forests,  represents  $2,100,000,000 
($700,000,000  for  state  forests,  $350,000,000  for  corporations, 
$1,050,000,000  for  private  forests),  or  $60  per  acre  —  one-third 
the  value  figured  on  p.  50.  (The  Saxon  state  forests,  which 
produce  the  highest  net  income,  are  figured  as  between  $115 
and  $233.)  Allowing  ^  for  the  soil,  the  wood  capital  repre- 
sents $50  per  acre,  or  the  total  $1,750,000,000.  Allowing  a 
similar  division  of  earnings,  namely,  |  to  be  credited  to  soil 
and  4  to  stock  of  wood,  the  soil  rent  at  3  per  cent   figures 


NOTES.  467 

30  cents  per  acre,  varying  (in  1895)  between  17.2  cents  in 
Prussia  and  72.2  cents  in  Saxony.  The  forest  soil  in  Prussia 
in  the  tax  lists  is  assessed  upon  the  basis  of  a  net  yield  varying 
from  18.3  cents  to  $1.25,  average  49.5  cents  per  acre,  while 
the  farm  soils  are  taxed  upon  the  basis  of  a  net  yield  of  81  to 
396  cents,  or  182.5  i"  the  average. 

P.  263.  Forest  Fire  Insurance.  —  The  Gladbacher  Fire  In- 
surance Company  in  Germany  insures  forest  properties  ac- 
cording to  age,  species,  and  local  danger.  The  fire  insurance 
value  of  young  stands  is  calculated  by  a  discount  with  a  5  per 
cent  interest  rate  on  the  final  harvest  value ;  for  mature  stands 
the  actual  present  value  is  supposed  to  persist  for  10  years. 
The  premiums  based  for  each  1000  mark  insurance  value  are 
in  the  average, 

for  broad-leaved  forests,  .  .  .  0.85  mark; 
for  mixed  conifer  and  broad-leaved  forest,  1.20  mark; 
for  conifers  pure, 2  marks. 

The  minimum  rate  is  0.45  mark,  the  maximum  4  marks  per 
1000  mark  value. 


NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   X. 

There  should  have  been  mentioned  in  the  text,  as  of  par- 
ticular interest  to  us,  what  position  our  neighbor  Canada  has 
taken  with  regard  to  her  forestry  interests. 

Like  the  United  States  Canada  possesses  two  forest  regions, 
the  eastern  and  the  western,  divided  by  a  forestless  prairie 
and  plains  country.  The  northern  climate  reduces  both  in 
the  east  and  the  west  the  species  composing  the  forest;  but 
on  the  whole,  the  type  of  forest  found  at  the  boundary  of  the 
United  States  continues  for  a  considerable  distance  into  Can- 
ada, until  with  the  decimation  of  species  and  decrease  in  de- 
velopment, the  more  or  less  open  woodlands  of  the  northern 
forest  type  are  reached,  where  spruce,  aspen,  and  birch  of 
inferior  quality  and  no  commercial,  although  of  local  value. 


468  APPENDIX. 

similar  to  our  interior  Alaskan  forest,  in  open  stand  and 
groves  of  greater  or  less  extent,  are  scattered  across  the 
continent. 

With  only  a  small  population,  somewhat  over  5  millions,  on 
an  immense  area,  3,654,000  square  miles,  the  availability  of 
large  parts  of  which  are  still  unknown  and  only  75  millions 
of  acres  occupied,  Canada  has  drawn  on  her  immense  forest 
resource  mainly  for  export  to  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  and  a  few  other  wood  consumers,  but  the  two  first- 
mentioned  countries  dividing  the  bulk  in  nearly  equal  shares. 
The  amount  of  exports  is,  however,  not  as  large  as  we  would 
be  led  to  believe  from  the  frequent  references  to  Canada's 
position  as  an  exporter  of  wood,  for  the  values  of  forest  and 
mill  products  seem  not  to  exceed  $30,000,000,  to  which  about 
3  millions  more  of  wood  manufactures  is  to  be  added,  the 
range  of  exports  for  the  last  ten  years  having  been  from 
$25,000,000  to  $35,000,000,  which  is  reduced  by  about 
$3,500,000  of  imports.  This  represents  a  per  capita  export  of 
about  140  cubic  feet.  It  would  appear  that  the  United  States 
exports  on  the  whole  more  forest  product  than  Canada,  against 
whom  she  maintains  a  suicidal  wood  tariff. 

The  great  value  of  Canadian  forests  was  early  recognized, 
and  even  during  the  French  regime  reservations  were  made 
to  protect  the  supply  of  oak  suitable  for  shipbuilding,  and  in 
1763,  when  the  English  took  possession,  a  more  organized 
system  was  established  to  accomplish  the  same  object;  a  cer- 
tain area  being  set  aside  in  each  township,  where  cutting  was 
prohibited  except  by  the  contractors  for  the  many  yards. 
Again,  in  1775,  ^^^  home  government  ordered  the  setting  aside 
of  large  tracts  of  pine-bearing  land.  Under  this  system  the 
navy  yard  contractors  had  practically  a  monopoly,  and  the 
colonial  government  received  no  revenue  from  its  forests.  In 
1826  in  Upper  Canada  a  measure  was  passed  permitting  any 
one  to  cut  timber  on  the  ungranted  lands  by  the  payment  of  a 
fixed  scale  of  rate  to  the  Crown,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  already  there  was  an  attempt  made  to  perpetuate  the 


NOTES.  469 

forest  by  doubling  the  rate  on  all  trees  cut  which  would  not 
square  more  than  eight  inches.  By  the  Crown  Timber  Act  in 
1849  the  granting  licenses  for  one  year  only  was  permitted, 
with  the  provision  that  at  the  end  of  the  year  the  government 
could  make  any  desired  change  in  the  regulations.  At  first 
only  a  ground  rent  of  62  cents  per  square  mile,  or  double  that 
if  unworked,  was  charged,  but  as  competition  for  the  limits 
began,  the  system  of  auctioning  them  was  introduced,  and  till 
this  time  this  system  has  persisted  with  a  few  modifications. 
In  this  way  the  government  still  owns  the  land  and  has  a 
right  at  any  time  to  refuse  to  renew  licenses. 

At  present  there  is  a  division  of  authority  in  the  forest 
administration  between  the  Dominion  and  the  Provincial 
governments.  The  Dominion  administration  is  under  the 
Department  of  Interior,  and  controls  the  land  north  of  Que- 
bec and  Ontario,  including  Labrador  on  the  east  and  extend- 
ing west  to  British  Columbia  and  Alaska.  The  Dominion  also 
owns  a  strip  of  land  in  British  Columbia  along  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  40  miles  wide  and  500  miles  long,  which  is 
heavily  forested. 

This  Dominion  forestry  branch  has  been  established  only 
four  years,  but  already  it  has  a  fairly  efficient  system  of  fire 
rangers,  and  has  commenced  a  great  work  of  forest  tree  plant- 
ing on  the  plains.  This  movement  was  really  started  by  the 
Experimental  Farms  under  Dr.  William  Saunders  in  1889, 
and  since  that  time  to  1901,  i^  milHons  of  young  forest  trees 
and  cuttings  and  8.5  tons  of  seed,  chiefly  box-elder  and 
green  ash,  have  been  distributed  among  the  settlers.  This 
work  is  taken  up  by  the  Interior  Department  more  extensively. 

Most  of  the  forest  now  being  exploited  comes  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Provincial  governments,  except  in  Manitoba 
and  the  territories,  where  the  country  is  new  and  forest  land 
scarce.  In  Prince  Edward  Island  the  forests  are  almost  en- 
tirely under  private  owners,  and  not  much  has  been  done  in 
the  way  of  forestry.  In  the  other  provinces  the  forests  are 
perhaps  the  most  valuable  form  of  public  wealth.      In  all, 


470  APPENDIX. 

a  system  of  licensing  timber  limits  with  some  minor  variations 
in  price  and  regulations  is  in  vogue,  and  in  that  way  the 
timber  lands  themselves  are  still  largely  owned  by  the  govern- 
ment. The  main  problem  before  the  administrations  is  the 
fire  problem,  and  all  have  made  some  attempts  at  protection, 
but  still  large  areas  are  burned  over  annually,  except  in  On- 
tario, where  the  ranger  system  has  been  very  effective,  and  in 
1 90 1  the  loss  from  fire  was  slight.  During  1901  this  pro- 
tection, one-half  paid  by  the  limit  holders,  cost  only  $30,000, 
an  insignificant  sum  when  compared  with  the  losses  from  fire 
in  former  years. 

Already  over  7,000,000  acres  have  been  set  aside  by  the 
Dominion  or  Provincial  governments  as  forest  reservations, 
and  it  is  expected  that  in  the  near  future  this  will  be  greatly 
increased.  Under  the  Federal  Government  some  ten  reserves, 
containing  3,000,000  acres,  have  been  established  in  Manitoba 
and  the  Northwest  Territories  on  wooded  mountain  ranges 
and  in  the  foothills  of  the  Rockies.  Ontario  has  four  reserves, 
viz..  Lake  Temagami  of  1,400,000  acres,  Algonquin  Park  of 
1,109,000  acres,  an  80,000-acre  tract  in  Addington  and 
Frontenac  counties,  and  45,000  acres  in  Sibly  County,  north 
of  Lake  Superior.  In  Quebec,  the  Laurentide  Park  contains 
1,634,000  acres,  and  in  the  last  legislature  in  New  Brunswick 
a  bill  was  passed  authorizing  the  setting  apart  of  a  large 
forest  reserve  on  the  Crown  lands. 

What  is  greatly  to  be  commended  in  the  forestry  adminis- 
tration in  Canada  is,  that  the  state  retains  the  ownership  of 
the  land  and  can  at  any  time  set  aside  any  portion  desired, 
and  that  from  the  sale  of  the  limits,  ground  rents,  and  royalties 
on  timber  cut,  a  revenue  is  procured,  which  in  Ontario,  at 
least,  relieves  the  people  from  any  direct  tax  for  state  pur- 
poses. If,  under  the  present  wasteful  system  of  forest  ex- 
ploitation, such  a  revenue  is  procured,  it  may  confidently  be 
expected  that  a  much  larger  amount  will  be  realized  when  the 
reservations  are  increased,  as  is  expected,  and  the  forests  are 
placed  under  scientific  management.     At  present  most  of  the 


NOTES.  471 

reservations,  except  the  Lake  Temagami,  consist  of  young 
trees,  and  it  has  not  been  decided  what  course  will  be  taken 
to  harvest  the  crop. 

Forestry  associations  exist  in  the  provinces  of  Quebec, 
British  Columbia,  and  also  a  Dominion  association,  founded 
in  1898,  which  is  largely  composed  of  lumbermen,  making  its 
future  work  more  hopeful. 

NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  XI. 

In  addition  to  the  statistics  contained  in  Chapter  II  and  the 
notes  to  that  chapter  the  following  additional  data  may  be  of 
interest.  The  writer  must  caution  readers  again  that  such 
statistics  are  not  to  be  conceived  as  mathematically  correct 
enumerations.  Even  census  statistics  may  not  be  considered 
more  than  approximations,  and  contain  elements  of  judgment 
and  estimate.  To  make  them  practically  useful  the  informa- 
tion they  contain  must  be  used  with  discretion  ;  the  information 
must  be  completed  by  estimate,  i.e.  by  "logical  inferences 
from  data  and  relations  reported."  While  the  enumerations 
should  be  reported  by  the  enumerator  exactly,  the  statistician 
is  justified  in  rounding  off  figures,  for  he  is  interested  merely 
in  relationships  which  are  more  clearly  brought  out  by  such 
rounding  off. 

Forest  Area  of  the  United  States  by  States. 

The  subjoined  table  gives  an  estimate  of  the  areas  which 
either  bear  commercially  valuable  forest  or  are  capable  of 
producing  such  without  effort  of  man  in  our  generation. 

This  table  is  based  upon  a  similar  table  prepared  by  the 
writer  in  1893,  corrected  upon  the  basis  of  the  farm  area 
reported  by  the  twelfth  census. 

The  geographical  arrangement  and  sub-additions  have  been 
made  with  a  view  of  bringing  out  the  relative  commercial  and 
economic  value  of  the  forest  areas. 


472 


APPENDIX. 


United  States 
Maine  .  .  . 
New  Hampshire 
Vermont  .  . 
Massachusetts 
Rhode  Island  . 
Connecticut      . 

New  England 
states  .  . 
New  York  .  . 
Pennsylvania  . 
New  Jersey 
Delaware 
Maryland    .     . 

Middle  Atlantic 
states  .  . 
Virginia.  ,  . 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 
Georgia  .     .     . 

Southern  Atlan 
tic  states    . 

Atlantic  Coast 
Florida    .     . 
Alabama 
Mississippi . 
Louisiana    . 

Gulf  states 
Texas  .  . 
Michigan  . 
Wisconsin  . 
Minnesota   . 

Northern 

bering 

Ohio   .     . 

Indiana    . 

Illinois     . 

Northern 
cultural  states 

Lake  States 
West  Virginia  . 
Kentucky  .  . 
Tennessee  .  . 
Arkansas  .  . 
Missouri      .     . 

Central  states 


lum 
states 


agri 


Total  land 
surface. 


Thousand 

acres. 
1,900,800 


19,132 
5,783 
5,846 
5,155 
694 
3,100 


39,7i°_ 


30.376 
28,790 
4,671 
1,254 
6,310 


71,401 


31,089 
19,308 
38.647 


225,835 


34.713 
32,986 
29,658 
29 ,069 
126,426 


167,808 


36,755 
34848 
50,691 


Improved 
land  in 
farms. 


Thousand 
acres. 
414.793 


2,386 
1,076 
2,126 
1,292 
187 
1,064 


15.599 
13,209 

1.977 
754 

3,516 


10,094 
8.327 

5,775 
10,615 


1,511 
8,654 
7,594 
4,666 


22,425 
19.576 


ti,799 
[1,246 
[8,442 


41,487 


35,840 


207, 20J 

15,772 
25,600 
26,720 
33,949 
43.990 
146,031 


19,244 
16,680 
27,699 


Improved 
land. 


Brush, 
forest, 

and 
waste 
land. 


Prob- 
ably 
forest. 


Brush 
land. 


NOTES. 


473 


Table  continued. 


Area. 

Per  cent. 

Total  land 
surface. 

Improved 
land  in 
farms. 

Improved 
land. 

Brush, 
forest, 

and 
waste 

land. 

Prob- 
ably 
forest. 

Brush 
land. 

Open 
coun- 
try. 

Iowa  . 

Thousand 
acres. 
35.504 

49^696 

'^ 
24,960 

Thousand 
acres 
29,897 

A\ 
18,432 
25,040 

5,5" 

84 

23 
43 
48 

16 

79 
77 
57 
52 
78 

13 

3 
7 

16 

North  Dakota 
South  Dakota 
Nebraska     . 
Kansas    .     . 
Oklahoma    . 

Prairie  states     . 

'5°.754 

99,809 

40 

60 

4 

Interior  States 

396,78s 

159,146 

40 

60 

20 

Montana      .     .     . 
Wyoming     .     .     . 
Colorado      .     .     . 
New  Mexico    .     . 

92,998 
62,448 
66,332 
78,374 

1,736 
792 

"3 

I 

3 

0.4 

99 
97 
99.6 

18 
12 
16 
6 

60 
71 
60 
72 

Eastern    Rocky 
Mountain  region 

5.127 

2 

98 

13 

20 

65 

Idaho 

Nevada  .... 

Utah 

Arizona  .... 

53,C4S 
70.233 
52.601 
72,268 

1.413 
572 

1,032 
254 

2 
0-3 

97 
99-7 

20 

16 
^4 

40 
9 
27 
12 

37 
90 
55 
74 

Western  Rocky 
Mountain  region 

249,047 

3.271 

1-3 

98.7 

8 

22 

69 

Rocky     Moun- 
tain REGION  . 

549,201 

8,398 

1.5 

98.5 

10 

21 

67.5 

California     .     .     . 
Oregon     .... 
Washington      .     . 

99,827 
60,518 
42,703 

11.958 
3,328 
3.465 

12 

88 
95 
92 

18 

35 
52 

27 

43 
32 
20 

Pacific  coast 

203,048 

18,751 

9 

91 

30 

27 

34 

Note.  —  The  authority  for  the  area  of  improved  farm  land  is  furnished  by  the 
of  1900.  The  areas  of  forest,  brush,  and  waste  lands  were  ascertained  by 
subtracting  the  area  of  cultivated  land  from  the  total  land  areas  of  the  several 
^>tates,  and  are  placed  as  per  cent  of  the  total  areas  in  column  4.  The  part  of 
these  supposed  to  be  forest  is  estimated  on  information  obtained  by  various 
agencies.  For  the  western  section  of  the  country  the  further  subdivisicn  into 
forest,  brush,  and  open  country  is  based  partly  on  statistics  gathered  by  Colonel 
Ensign  and  published  in  Bulletin  2  of  the  Division  of  Forestry,  and  partly  on  the 
map  published  in  the  report  of  the  Forestry  Division  for  1892. 

These  figures  would  indicate  that,  in  round  numbers,  less 
than  415  million  acres  are  turned  into  farm  lands,  about  two- 
thirds  of  which  was  hewn  out  of  the  forest ;  that  the  pro- 
ductive area  of  forest  growth,  by  no  means  all  virgin,  falls 


474  APPENDIX. 

somewhat  below  500  million  acres ;  that  nearly  450  million 
acres  are  open  country  which  is  presumably  incapable  of  pro- 
ducing any  valuable  forest  growth  on  account  of  climatic  defi- 
ciencies, leaving  a  balance  of  over  500  million  acres  as  waste 
and  brush  land,  of  which  at  least  three-fifths  have  been 
made  so  by  the  combined  efforts  of  axe  and  fire. 

The  territorial  distribution  of  the  forest  area  may  be  broadly 
defined  as  follows  :  — 

(i)  The  Atlantic  forest,  covering  mountains  and  valleys  in 
the  east,  reaching  westward  to  the  Mississippi  River  and 
beyond  to  the  Indian  Territory  and  south  into  Texas,  an 
area  of  about  1,361,330  square  miles,  mostly  of  mixed 
growth,  hardwoods  and  conifers,  with  here  and  there  large 
areas  of  coniferous  growth  alone  —  a  vast  and  continuous 
forest. 

(2)  The  mountain  forest  of  the  west,  or  Pacific  forest,  cov- 
ering the  higher  elevations  below  timber  line  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  Sierra  Nevada,  and  Coast  Range,  which  may  be 
estimated  at  181,015  square  miles,  almost  exclusively  of 
coniferous  growth,  of  enormous  development  on  the  northern 
Pacific  coast,  more  or  less  scattered  in  the  interior  and  to  the 
south. 

(3)  The  prairies,  plains,  lower  elevations,  and  valleys  of 
the  west,  with  a  scattered  tree  growth,  on  which,  whether 
from  climatic,  geologic,  or  other  causes,  forest  growth  is  con- 
fined mostly  to  the  river  bottoms  or  other  favorable  situations, 
an  area  of  about  1,427,655  square  miles,  of  which  276,965 
square  miles  may  be  considered  under  forest  cover  of  decidu- 
ous species  east  of  the  Rockies  and  of  coniferous  and  deciduous 
species  in  the  west  of  this  divide. 

The  maps  to  be  found  in  the  reports  of  the  Forestry  Di- 
vision, United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  for  1893, 
and  in  the  oft-cited  H.  R.  Doc.  181,  give  an  idea  of  the  rela- 
tive location  of  these  forest  areas  and  their  economic  value. 
Volume  XI.  Part  3  of  the  Twelfth  Census  contains  not  only 
a  very  detailed  and  full  elaboration  of  the  statistics  of  the 


NOTES.  475 

lumber  industry,  but  also  a  map  showing  the  distribution  of 
that  industry  over  the  country  by  values  produced  per  square 
mile.  This  shows  the  most  intense  concentration  of  this 
manufacture  in  the  northern  section  of  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
and  Minnesota ;  in  the  middle  west  of  New  York  and  Penn- 
sylvania, in  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  and,  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  in  Washington  and  on  a  small  territory  in  Oregon 
along  the  Columbia  River,  while  the  centres  of  intensive  pro- 
duction in  the  Southern  states  are  more  widely  scattered 
with  reference  to  shipping  ports  along  the  coast  and  Missis- 
sippi River. 

Statistics  of  Wood  Consumption. 

The  eleventh  volume  of  the  Twelfth  Census,  containing  re- 
ports on  "  Selected  Industries,"  reaches  the  writer  in  time  to 
give  the  following  brief  resume  of  the  lumber  interests. 

The  census  of  1900  for  the  first  time  seems  to  have  secured 
tolerably  full  although  still  incomplete  statistics  of  the  lumber 
industry  of  the  United  States,  which  show  that  the  estimate  of 
the  writer  of  40  billion  feet  B.M.  (see  pp.  40  and  349)  annual 
consumption  is  as  near  the  truth  as  it  can  possibly  be  stated, 
including  all  material  requiring  log  and  bolt  size,  for  the  saw- 
mill product  alone  is  placed  by  the  census  at  35  billion  feet, 
precisely  the  amount  which  the  writer  deduced  from  the  re- 
ported sawmill  capacity  in  1898.1  The  allowance  of  5  billion 
feet  for  staves  and  headings,  railroad  ties,  round  and  hewn 
timber  used  locally,  telegraph  poles,  etc.,  is,  indeed,  hardly 
sufficient.  Since,  however,  in  the  census  statistics  there  are 
undoubtedly  duplications,  we  may  perhaps  still  adhere,  for  all 
purposes  of  economic  discussions,  to  our  round  figure  of 
40  billion  as  representing  fairly  our  present  annual  consump- 
tion. The  summary  of  the  census  (1900),  mixing  up  sawmills, 
planing  mills,  and  timber  camps,  stands  as  follows  :  — 

1  H.  R.  Doc.  181,  55th  Cong.,  3d  sess.,  p.  119. 


476 


APPENDIX. 


Number  of  establishments  ( 

ing?)     . 
Capital  invested 
Salaried  officials,  12,530 
Wage  earners,  283,260 
Miscellaneous  expenses 
Cost  of  materials  used 
Value  of  products,  total 

Saw  mill 

Planing  mill 

Timber  camps 
Quantity  of  sawed  lumber,  M  ft 


eporting  or  exist- 


$422,812,061 
107,622,519 
36,398,404 
B.M.    . 


33,035 

$611,611,524 

1 1 ,260,608 

104,640,591 

17,731,519 
317,923,548 
566,832,984 


35,084,166 


The  Chief  Statistician  of  Manufactures,  commenting  on 
these  statistics,  which  show  an  increase  in  lumber  product  of 
30  per  cent  over  that  reported  by  the  eleventh  census,  writes  :  — 

''  The  consumption  of  wood  in  the  industries  is  increasing 
at  a  much  more  rapid  rate  than  the  population,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  in  many  articles  metals  are  substituted  for  wood. 
While  the  timber  is  Deing  used  more  and  more  economically 
and  the  waste  is  being  diminished  year  by  year,  still  the  rate 
of  destruction  of  the  forests  is  yearly  increasing." 

The  figure  of  $318,000,000  represents  the  cost  of  the  logs 
and  other  raw  materials  at  the  various  mills  which  produced 
the  35  million  feet  of  lumber  and  whatever  other  products 
were  produced  in  the  mills.  Discrepancies  between  the  re- 
ported output  of  the  logging  camps  (26  billion  feet),  and  that 
of  the  sawmills,  amounting  to  over  36  per  cent  ( !),  are  explained 
by  the  compiler  as  due  to  failure  of  small  concerns  reporting 
on  the  former  and  to  increase  in  the  scale  at  the  mill. 

The  sawmills  alone  seem  to  have  produced  from  logs, 
bolts,  and  cords  of  wood  valued  at  $135,000,000  a  product 
valued  at  $423,000,000.  In  addition  to  the  35  million  feet  of 
umber  valued  at    $390,000,000,1  representing  92   per  cent 


1  In  another  table  this  is  reported  as  ^385,298,304. 
tabulations  do  not  always  agree. 


Altogether  the 


NOTES. 


477 


of  the  whole,  the  following  materials  were  produced  at  the 
mills :  — 

Output  of  Factories  using  Wood  Products, 


Value. 

Material. 

Quantity. 

Million 
dollars. 

Shingles,  M 

12,102,007 

18.9 

Hoops,  M 

441,327 

2.7 

Staves,  M         

1,664,792 

137 

Headings,  M 

124,089 

4-3 

Bobbin  and  spool  stock,  M  ft. 

40,037 

•5 

Furniture  stock,  M  ft.        .         .         . 

105,305 

1.9 

Agricultural  implement  stock,  M  ft. 

33,250 

.6 

Carriage  and  wagon  stock,  M  ft. 

82,686 

1.8 

Pickets  and  paling,  M       .         .         . 

35,804 

•3 

Laths,  M 

2,523,998 

4-7 

All  other  sawed  products 

19.6 

The  mill  product  outside  the  lumber  value  was  therefore 
round  $70,000,000. 

These,  as  well  as  the  following  products  of  timber  camps, 
exhibit  the  great  variety  of  wood  materials,  all  of  smaller 
value,  yet  aggregating  considerable  quantities.  While  these 
represent  reported  amounts  from  regular  mills  and  camps, 
an  unknown  quantity  is  furnished  from  irregular  sources, — 
farmers  and  jobbers. 

Altogether  it  is  certain  that  census  figures  must  remain 
considerably  below  the  actual  truth,  owing  to  the  diiificulty  of 
reaching  all  the  information. 

The  independent  timber  camps  added  to  the  3383  milhon 
feet  of  logs  cut  for  sale,  valued  at  $20,600,000,  the  following 
products,  aggregating  about  $15,000,000  :  — 


478 


APPENDIX. 


Value. 

Material. 

Quantities. 

Thousand 
dollars. 

Logs  for  export,  M  ft.       . 

85,306 

580 

Hewed  timber,  M  ft. 

39759 

348 

Basket  stock,  M  ft. 

7,443 

28 

Cooperage  stock,  cords 

82,546 

347 

Excelsior  stock,  cords 

12,670 

49 

Feace  posts.  No. 

8,715,661 

606 

Hop  poles,  No. 

1,205,700 

12 

Handle  stock,  cords 

6,423 

42 

Hemlock  bark,  cords 

473,222 

1.945 

Oak  bark,  cords 

39.844 

229 

Piles,  No. 

396,629 

759 

Paving  stock,  cords 

554 

2 

Railway  ties     . 

22,591,894 

6,299 

Shingles,  rived,  M    , 

41,433 

78 

Mast  and  spars,  No. 

2,580 

29 

Ship  knees,  No. 

1,601 

5 

Telegraph  poles.  No. 

937-963 

1,394 

Wheel  stock,  cords  . 

9,317 

46 

Charcoal,  bush. 

6,796,334 

459 

All  other  products    .... 

1,666 

The  distribution  of  the  sawed  product  as  reported  by  regions 
shows  as  follows  :  — 


Adding  ^  lOr 

Million  feet  B.M. 

non-enumerated 
materials. 

New  England,  N.  Atlantic  states 

5.530 

6-3 

Central  states     .... 

2,420 

2.8 

Lake  states         .... 

8,760 

10. 

Southern  states 

14,500 

16.6 

Pacific  states      .... 

2,900 

3-3 

Rocky  Mountain  states 

560 

.64 

Miscellaneous     .... 

400 

.46 

NOTES.  479 

If  we  compare  this  distribution  with  that  given  on  p.  350 
for  the  census  year  1890,  allowing  for  the  non-enumerated 
materials  at  the  same  proportion  in  all  districts,  it  would 
appear  that  the  cut  in  the  first  group  of  states  has  probably 
slightly  increased,  but  that  the  cut  in  the  Central  and  Lake 
states  has  very  materially  decreased,  unquestionably  owing  to 
decrease  in  supplies  ;  while  the  Southern  states  have  increased 
their  output  to  meet  this  deficiency,  and  the  increase  in  the 
Western  states  is  but  slight.  Although  regionally  the  white 
pine  district  is  now  in  its  total  production  outstripped  by  the 
Southern  states,  yet  the  three  states  of  Wisconsin,  Michigan, 
and  Minnesota  are  still  by  far  the  three  largest  lumber-pro- 
ducers, in  the  order  named,  with  Pennsylvania  a  close  fourth, 
these  four  states  furnishing  nearly  one-quarter  of  the  value  and 
one-third  of  the  product.  The  white  pine  product  of  the  three 
Lake  states  has  been  reduced  nearly  40  per  cent  since  1890, 
the  year  of  maximum  production.  At  that  time  it  was  8.6  bil- 
lion feet  (not  including  shingles)  ;  gradually  decreasing,  it  has 
fallen  now  (1901)  to  5.4  billion. 

The  American  Luviberman,  which  furnishes  these  data 
most  acceptably,  formerly  ridiculing  the  idea  of  waning  sup- 
plies, comments  on  this  decline  significantly :  — 

''We  may  say  that  if  former  methods  of  collecting  statistics 
had  been  followed  there  would  have  been  a  heavier  decline. 
That  is  to  say,  the  report  for  igoi  is  more  nearly  complete 
than  that  for  any  previous  year.  It  means  simply  that  the 
timber  is  disappearing,  that  the  still  increasing  wants  of  the 
country  must  be  and  are  supplied  to  an  increasing  extent  from 
other  sources.  In  that  decline  we  see  the  chief  stimulus  to 
the  growth  of  the  lumber  industry  in  the  South  and  on  the 
Pacific  coast."  And  further  accentuating  the  change  of  stand- 
ards, which  made  earlier  estimates  of  standing  timber  wrong : 
"But  what  a  change  in  quality!  If  all  the  remaining  white 
pine  could  be  manufactured  into  lumber  and  put  on  the  mar- 
ket at  once,  it  is  doubtful  if  there  would  be  as  much  good  lum- 
ber, to  say  nothing  about  uppers,  as  there  was  in  1882  alone." 


48o 


APPENDIX. 


And  referring  to  the  low  condition  of  stocks  in  the  yards: 
"The  reason  of  this  decrease  in  stocks  seems  to  be  that  the 
demand  can  no  longer  be  satisfied  by  drawing  stocks  down, 
but  that  the  demand  must  in  a  measure  remain  unsatisfied  or  be 
supplied  with  other  woods." 

With  due  allowance  for  differences  in  manner  of  collating 
statistics,  failures  in  securing  information,  and  differences  of 
values  in  money  and  price,  the  following  figures  of  the  vari- 
ous censuses  may  be  used  at  least  to  show  the  tendencies  of 
increase  in  the  lumber  output,  giving  the  per  cent  of  increase 
over  each  previous  decade. 

1850.  1860.  1870.  1880.  1890.  1900. 


Number    of    establishments 

thousands  . 

Per  cent  increase    . 

i8.8 

20.7         25.8 
25          0.5 

25.7         22.6         33 
12            46 

Capital,  million  dollars 
Per  cent  increase    . 

41.4 
80 

74-5        1435 
93          26 

181. 2       557.9       611.6 
208            10 

Laborers,  thousands      . 
Per  cent  increase    . 

55.8 
36 

75-8        150 

98         1.4 

148           312          283 
III              9 

Cost    of    materials,   million 

dollars 
Per  cent  increase    . 

57 

44.6        103.3 
132          41 

146           242.6       317.9 
66           31 

Value    of    products,  millior 

dollars 
Per  cent  increase    . 

60.4 
60 

96.7        210.2 
117           II 

233.3       438          566.8 
88           29 

Population,  millions 
Per  cent  increase    . 

23.2 
36 

31.4          38.6 
23          30 

50.2         62.6         76.3 
25           22 

From  this  it  would  appear  that  while  the  population  in  the  50 
years  grew  by  228  per  cent,  its  lumber  bill  during  the  same 
period  grew  by  840  per  cent,  or  from  $2.60  per  capita  to  $7.43, 
an  increase  similar  to  that  of  the  European  nations  as  noted 
on  p.  453  et  seq. 

Exports  of  wood,  its  manufactures,  and  other  forest  products 
have  also  increased  lately  at  a  rapid  rate,  namely,  as  follows  :  — ■ 

Million  dollars. 

1894 27.7 

189s 27.1 

1896 31.9 


NOTES.  481 

Million  dollars. 

1897 39-6 

1898 37.5 

1899 41-5 

1900 50.6 

While  imports  have  remained  nearly  stationary  and  usually 
below  $20,000,000  in  value ;  of  the  exports  less  than  25  per 
cent  are  manufactured  articles. 

The  census  compiler  furnishes  the  following  table,  attempt- 
ing to  show  the  change  in  proportions  of  the  total  lumber 
product  furnished  by  geographical  divisions  from  census  year 
to  census  year : — 


1850 
i860 
1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 


Northeastern 

Lake 

Southern 

states. 

states. 

states. 

54-5 

6.4 

13.8 

36.2 

13.6 

16.S 

36.8 

24.4 

94 

24.8 

334 

11.9 

18.4 

36.3 

15.9 

16.0 

27.4 

25.2 

Pacific 
states. 


3-9 
6.2 

3-6 
3-5 
7-3 
9.6 


These  figures  represent  only  the  reported  mill  cut  with  all 
the  uncertainties  accruing  from  diiferences  in  their  collation, 
but  bring  out  sufficiently  clearly  the  change  in  supplies, 
namely,  the  steady  decrease  in  the  northeastern  states,  the 
beginning  decline  in  the  Lake  states,  the  increase  in  the 
southern  output,  and  the  slower  increase  in  the  Pacific  states, 
mainly  for  home  consumption,  hence  in  relation  to  increase 
of  population. 

The  different  species  are  reported  to  have  participated  in 
the  total  cut  as  follows,  arranged  according  to  the  relative 
position  in  the  supply,  verifying  the  writer's  estimate,  that 
three-fourths  of  our  consumption  is  of  coniferous  wood,  the 
pines  alone  furnishing  50  per  cent  of  all  lumber  cut :  — 


482 


APPENDIX. 


Conifers. 

Southern  Pine  (several  species) 

White  Pine 

Hemlock 

Spruce  (and  Balsam  ?)  .     .     . 

Cypress 

Norway  Pine 

Cedar     

Tamarack 

Eastern  Section  .  .  . 
Red  (Douglas)  Fir  .     .     .     . 

Hemlock 

Yellow  Pine  (western)  .     .     . 

Redwood     

Cedar 

Sugar  Pine 

Tamarack 

Western  Section  .  .  . 
All  others 

Total 

Hardwoods  (broad-leaved). 
Oak  (various  species)     .     .     . 

Poplar  (Tulip) 

Maple 

Elm 

Cottonwood 

Basswood 

Gum  (Red) 

Ash 

Chestnut 

Birch 

Hickory 

Black  Walnut 

Sycamore 

All  others 

Totals 


Quantity. 
Million  feet,  B.M. 


4438 
III5 

456 

308 
285 
269 
207 

97 
39 
30 

208 


21,250 


4,870 
33 

26,153 


.633 


34,786 


NOTES. 


483 


These  figures  do  not,  however,  fully  reveal  the  relative 
position  of  the  different  species  in  the  wood  supply ;  for  the 
spruce,  for  instance,  the  consumption  of  sizeable  material  for 
wood  pulp,  with  not  less  than  1000  million  feet,  will  have  to 
be  added,  and  for  other  species  fi-om  the  same  source  some 
300  million ;  the  cut  on  farms,  which  is  placed  at  nearly 
$120,000,000  in  value,  in  part  log  or  bolt  size  material,  and  not 
brought  to  mills,  will  have  to  be  considered  probably  mainly 
in  the  hardwood  cut.  On  the  whole,  the  distribution  given  on 
p.  350  remains  relatively  correct.  It  is  especially  interesting 
to  note  the  large  amount  of  hemlock  reported  as  cut  on  the 
Pacific  coast  (see  p.  361). 

Statements  are  also  made  in  the  census  report  of  the  prob- 
able stand  of  uncut  timber  of  the  various  species,  without, 
however,  giving  the  basis  for  such  estimates,  or  rather  guesses. 
These  figures  are  as  follows  :  — 


Billion  Feet,  B.M. 

.  Species. 

Standing. 

Owned  by 
lumbermen. 

Southern  Pine 

300 

46.S 

White  Pine      . 

50 

16.4 

Hemlock 

100 

6.8 

Spruce  (Eastern)      . 

50 

8.6 

Cypress    . 

65 

6.6 

Red  Fir    . 

300 

23.8 

Western  Pine  . 

125 

24.6 

Redwood 

75 

14.3 

Sugar  Pine 

25 

3-9 

Hardwood  (one-half  oak) 

? 

30- 

These  guesses  would  indicate  a  stock  on  hand  of  merchant- 
able coniferous  wood  of  not  less  than  iioo  billion  feet,  of 
which  round  one-half  is  credited  to  the  Eastern  states.     The 


484 


APPENDIX. 


writer  does  not  see  any  reason  for  accepting  these  guesses  as 
better  than  his  own,  or  to  change  his  general  deduction,  that 
witli  a  present  cut  of  probably  over  24  billion  feet  (including 
pulp  wood),  which  is  increasing  30  per  cent  in  every  decade, 
the  Eastern  supplies  will  be  cut  out  sooner  than  they  can  be 
replaced  by  recuperative  measures.  That  only  14  per  cent  of 
this  valuable  property  is  reported  as  owned  by  lumbermen  is 
rather  surprising.  The  total  amount  of  all  species  thus  held 
is  stated  as  215.550  million  feet,  "probably  somewhat  more 
than  one-tenth  the  amount  now  standing  in  the  country!" 

In  other  words,  the  rough  estimate  of  the  writer  recorded 
on  p.  52  is  accepted  by  the  census  compiler,  Mr.  Gannett,  as 
within  reasonable  truth,  and  we  would  then  have  not  fifty 
years'  supply  in  sight.  We  had  hoped  the  census  would 
prove  this  sad  foreboding  unfounded! 

The  following  tabulation,  based  probably  on  more  sub- 
stantial data  than  the  estimate  of  standing  timber,  is  of  inter- 
est in  showing  the  relative  productiveness  and  value  of  timber 
lands  in  the  various  sections  of  the  country.  It  reports  the 
acreage,  contents,  and  value  (capital  invested)  of  the  forest 
holdings  of  the  8888  lumber  firms  reporting  such. 


Capital. 
Thousand 
dollars. 


Acres  owned. 
Thousands. 


Average 
stand  of 
merchantable 
timber 
per  acre. 
Feet,  B.M. 


Eastern  group 
Lake  group  . 
Central  group 
Southern  group 
Pacific  group 
Miscellaneous  group 

United  States 


40,700 
75.185 
17.527 
54,037 
23785 
3>755 
214,989 


4,500 
6,694 

3.244 
12,414 
3,188 
2,182 

32,222 


4,700 
4,900 
4,700 
5,000 
24,500 
2,500 

6,700 


NOTES.  485 

These  figures  accord  closely  enough  with  the  writer's  concep- 
tion, which  was  used  in  making  the  computation  of  the  standing 
timber  recorded  on  p.  52  upon  the  basis  of  the  area  stated 
on  pp.  472-473- 

The  compiler  comments  as  follows :  "  The  average  stand 
of  timber  per  acre,  being  that  of  selected  tracts  owned  by 
lumbermen,  is,  of  course,  higher  than  the  average  of  the  coun- 
try or  state,  and  in  the  case  of  several  of  the  states  where  the 
average  stand  has  been  obtained,  it  is  known  to  be  much 
higher.  Thus  in  Minnesota  the  average  stand  is  about  one- 
half  that  here  given,  or  about  2000  feet  per  acre.  The  same  is 
the  case  in  Oregon  and  Washington,  where  the  large  stands 
here  given  (24,500)  must  be  divided  by  2  to  obtain  the  average 
stand  of  the  state.  The  southern  pine  has  an  average  stand, 
according  to  the  best  information,^  of  not  far  from  3000  feet 
per  acre,  a  little  lower  perhaps  in  the  east  and  somewhat  higher 
in  the  west." 

With  such  reductions  we  can  accept  Mr.  Gannetfs  forest 
area  of  700  million  acres  and  find  the  condition  of  supplies 
even  worse  than  the  writer  has  presented  it  in  Chap.  XI. 

The  average  investment  for  stumpage  would,  from  the  above 
tabulation  for  the  better  lands,  be  $1  per  M  feet  or  $6.70  per 
acre ;  but  it  is  well  known  that  these  figures  are  understate- 
ments as  to  the  true  stumpage  value,  and  the  tables  recording 
the  stumpage  values  for  different  states  and  different  species 
show  this  to  be  the  case.  Here  the  stumpage  value  per 
M  feet  is  given  as  $2.18,  which,  with  an  average  stand  of 
6700  per  acre,  makes  the  stumpage  value  per  acre  $14.60. 
That  even  these  recorded  stumpage  values  remain  below  the 
actual  truth,  at  least  in  certain  instances,  may  be  judged  from 
the  statement  that  the  stumpage  for  white  pine  ranges  in  the 
states  in  which  it  is  of  importance  between  $3.50  and  $4  per 
M,  when  in  actual  sales  double  the  higher  figure  has  been 

1  See  Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  "  The  Timber  Pines  of  the  Southern  United 
States." 


486 


APPENDIX. 


paid,  and  this  year  millions  of  feet  stumpage  have  been  sold  at 
more  than  $8  per  M  ft.  Spruce  stumpage  is  given  as  ranging 
between  $2  and  $3,  when  actual  sales  in  New  York  were  made 
at  more  than  the  latter  price. 

The  range  of  average  stumpage  varies  from  80  cents  in 
Washington  to  $4.95  in  Iowa,  while  saw  logs  are  valued  from 
$4.02  in  Nevada  to  $12.16  in  Iowa,  or  $6.28  for  the  country, 
the  cost  of  logging  being  therefore  $3.90  per  M  in  the  average 
and  may  go  up  as  high  as  $7.  At  present,  with  increase  in 
labor  and  provisions,  this  cost  is  increased  considerably. 

The  average  stumpage  values  per  M  feet  B.M.  of  different 
species  based  upon  the  statements  of  forest-owning  lumber- 
men figure  out  as  follows  :  — 


Conifers 

Average. 

Maximum 

White  Pine     ....  $3.66 

$4.00 

Norway  Pine  . 

2.88 

Hemlock 

2.56 

3.00 

Spruce  1 

2.26 

3.00 

Sugar  Pine      . 

1.96 

Cedar      . 

1.32 

2.00 

Yellow  Pine  2  . 

1. 12 

1.60 

Cypress  . 

1.58 

Redwood 

1.06 

Tamarack 

I. GO 

Red  (Douglas)  Fir 

•77 

1.06 

Hardwood 

Black  Walnut          .         .         .5.00 

Elm 3.30 

White  Oak  8    . 

3.18 

S.38 

1  Spruce  stumpage  in  New  York  is  now  not  less  than  ^4. 

2  Mixes  southern  and  western  yellow  pine ;  the  former  alone  appears 
to  average  ^1.20,  its  maximum  ^1.60  in  Virginia,  an  exceedingly  low 
figure  for  good  pine  property,  which  is  now  often  sold  at  more  than 
double  this  figure. 

8  Includes  probably  all  commercial  oaks. 


NOTES.  487 

Hardwood  —  continued  Average.         Maximum. 

Ash 3.03 

Poplar  (Tulip)         .         .         .2.81  3.00 

Chestnut  ....     2.71 

Maple 2.66 

Red  Gum  ....  1.68 
Basswood  ....  1.50 
Cottonwood     .         .         .         .1.45 

The  lumber  industry  is  stated  to  be  the  fourth  among  the 
great  manufacturing  industries  of  the  country  in  value  of  prod- 
ucts, being  exceeded  by  the  iron  and  steel,  the  textile,  and  the 
meat  industry.  But  this  does  not  state  the  relative  value  of 
forest  products,  including  the  large  amount  of  fuel  wood  and 
other  materials  of  home  consumption  not  going  through  the 
mills,  and  the  valuable  by-products. 

If  all  these  unenumerated  forest  products  are  counted  in, 
the  forest  resource  as  a  producer  of  values  is  unquestionably 
second  only  to  agriculture. 

P.  342.  Reservation  of  Mountain  Forests  in  connection  with 
Irrigation.  —  In  the  western  country,  as  Mr.  Newell  states,^ 
"the  forests  of  the  arid  region  not  only  mark  the  greatest 
rainfall  but  also  indicate  the  locality  from  which  come  the 
principal  streams.  The  headwaters  of  nearly  all  of  our  rivers 
which  give  value  to  the  lands  are  within  the  forested  regions." 
Hence  the  close  connection  between  the  extensive  irrigation 
plans  and  forest  management. 

NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   XII. 

P.  371.  Fears  of  Wood  Famine.  —  The  fear  of  a  wood 
famine  troubled  the  minds  not  only  of  our  ancestors  in  this 
country  but  still  more  so  in  the  countries  of  Europe  a  hundred 
years  ago,  before  railroad  transportation  and  navigation  had 

1  "  Irrigation  in  the  United  States,  "  by  F.  H.  Newell.  T.  Y.  Crowell 
&  Co.,  1902. 


488  APPENDIX. 

been  developed  to  their  modern  proportions,  making  us  inde- 
pendent of  local  supplies. 

This  is  most  strikingly  exhibited  by  the  following  list  of 
titles  taken  from  the  catalogue  of  the  library  of  the  well-known 
German  forest  academy  at  Tharandt,  which  show  that  in  Ger- 
many one  hundred  years  ago  forest  conditions  must  have  been 
somewhat  similar  to  ours,  or  worse,  and  remedies,  quack  and 
ortherwise,  were  being  discussed  as  freely  as  with  us. 
Collection  of  economic  information,  how  to  promote  wood- 
growth,  introduce  better  economy  in  the  case  of  wood, 
and  prevent  scarcity  of  wood  supplies  by  applying  build- 
ing timber  more  usefully,  1762. 
On  the  general  deficiency  of  wood  supplies  and  on  the  means 

how  to  meet  it,  1765. 
Proposition,  how  to  meet  the  general  decrease  of  wood  sup- 
plies most  quickly  and  surely,  if  not  entirely  at  least  for 
the  greater  part,  1788. 
Prize  essay  on  the  question :    How   is   the  rapidly  coming 
wood  famine  to  be  avoided  and  a  proper  reforestation  of 
waste  lands  to  be  secured,  1794. 
Answer  to  the  question :  How  the  scarcity  of  wood  can  be 

overcome,  1795. 
Open  thoughts  on  scarcity  of  wood,  especially  of  fire  wood,  in 

Schleswig-Holstein  and  how  to  help  it,  1798. 
On  wood  famine,  1799. 
Something  on  deficiency  of  wood  supplies,  with  propositions 

how  to  cure  it,  1799- 
The  Catalpa  (!)  ^  ^  ^^^'^^  means  of  avoiding  the  wood  famine, 

1800. 
On  some  of  the  causes  of  wood  scarcity  which  have  not  yet 

been  recognized  and  appreciated,  1800. 
Forestry,  or  instructions  how  the  deficiency  in  wood  supply 
may  be  met,  and  their  increase  promoted,  1801. 

iThis  has  been  pointed  out  with  similar  hopes  in  this  country. 
See  Bulletin  No.  37,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  giving  a  full  description  of 
characteristics  of  plantations  of  the  Hardy  Catalpa. 


NOTES. 


489 


Contributions  to  the  avoidance  of  a  wood  famine,  1801. 
Open  thoughts  on  scarcity,  prices,  economy,  in  the  use  of 

wood,  and  on  silviculture,  1802. 
Something  on  the  general  scarcity  of  wood  in  the  Austrian 

states,  1805. 
Investigations  on  the  value  of  wood  and  the  importance  of  the 

economic  use  of  wood,  1806. 
Wood  famine  and  the  state  forests,  1840. 
On  deforestation  and  increase  of  wood  prices,  with  remarks  on 

the  propositions  which  are  made  for  the  conservation  of 

forests,  1843. 
Short  instructions  for  the  increase  and  economic  use  of  wood, 

1845- 
The  cause  of  increased  wood  prices  and  the  importance  of  the 

care  and  preservation  of  forests  as  the  only  means  to 

reduce  them,  1846. 
P.  409.    Federal  Forest  Reservations.  —  There  are  at  present 
writing  (October,  1902)  54  forest  reservations,  created  under 
the  act  of  March  3,  1891,  embracing  over  60  million  acres, 
namely :  — 


Acres. 

State  or  territory. 

Name  of  reserve. 

Thou- 

sands. 

Alaska 

Afognak   Forest 
Culture    . 

and 

Fish 

404 

The  Alexander  Archipelago 

4,506 

Arizona      . 

Grand  Canon 

1,852 

San  Francisco  Mountain 

i'975 

Black  Mesa 

4,659 

Prescott      . 

424 

Santa  Rita . 

387 

Santa  Catalina    . 

156 

Mount  Graham  . 

119 

Chiricahua . 

170 

California  . 

San  Gabriel 

Sierra 

San  Bernardino  • 

Trabuco  Canon  . 

556 

4,096 
m 

no 

490 


APPENDIX. 


Acres. 

State  or  territory. 

Name  of  reserve. 

Thou- 
sands. 

California  . 

Stanislaus  .         .         .         . 

691 

San  Jacinto 

668 

Pine    Mountain    and 

"Zaca 

Lake        . 

1,645 

Lake  Tahoe 

136 

Santa  Ynez 

145 

Colorado    . 

White  River 

1,130 

Pike's  Peak 

184 

Plum  Creek 

179 

South  Platte 

684 

Battlement  Mesa 

858 

San  Isabel  . 

78 

Idaho  and  Montana    . 

Bitterroot   . 

4,147 

Idaho  and  Washington 

Priest  River 

645 

Montana     . 

Flathead     . 

1,382 

Lewis  and  Clarke 

2,926 

Gallatin      . 

40 

Little  Belt  Mountains 

501 

Madison      . 

736 

Absaroka    . 

1,312 

Nebraska    . 

Dismal  River 

85 

Niobrara     . 

124 

New  Mexico 

Pecos  River 

431 

Gila  River  . 

2,327 

Lincoln 

500 

Oklahoma  . 

Wichita      . 

57 

Oregon 

Bull  Run    . 

142 

Cascade  Range  . 

4,436 

Ashland 

19 

South     Dakota     and 

Wyoming 

Black  Hills 

1,212 

Utah.      :     .      . 

Uintah 

876 

Fish  Lake  . 

68 

Payson 

86 

Washington 

Washington 

3426 

Mt.  Rainier 

2,028 

Wyoming  . 

Yellowstone 

1,834 

Big  Horn    . 

1,217 

Teton 

4,127 

Crow  Creek 

56 

Medicine  Bow     . 

421 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A  very  full  bibliography  bearing  upon  the  subject-matter 
of  this  volume,  mainly  of  German  literature,  but  with  a  few 
references  to  French,  English,  and  other  languages,  is  to  be 
found  in  Dr.  Adam  Schwappach's  Forstpolitik,  Jagd-  u. 
Fischercipolitik,  which  appeared  in  1894  as  the  loth  volume 
of  the  Hand-  und  LeJirbitch  der  Staatswissetischaften,  edited 
by  KuNO  Frankenstein.  The  volume  itself  is  probably  the 
best  and  most  complete  work  on  the  subject,  written,  to  be 
sure,  from  German  points  of  view  and  including  the  fish  and 
game  interests. 

This  bibliography  divides  the  subject,  outside  of  the  last 
two  phases,  into  16  sub-heads  with  over  600  titles  (644  with 
repetitions),  viz. :  — 

I.  Encyclopcedic  hand-books,  or  histories  of 
forestry,  forest  politics  and  forest  law, 
and  writings  of  general,  theoretical,  and 

methodological  contents 119  titles 

II.  Collective  works,  reports,  annuals,  and  mag- 
azines      96     " 

III.  Forest  law  and  forest  legislation  of  different 

States 49     " 

IV.  History  and  description  of  forest  adminis- 

trations  in   different  states  and  parts  of 

states 63     " 

V.  Conditions  of  production,  economic  signifi- 
cance, material  and  immaterial  benefits  of 

the  forest 128     " 

VI.    State  forests  and  state  forest  administrations     40     " 
VII.    Education,    experimentation,    and    associa- 
tion—  The  organs  of  forest  politics     .     .     29     " 
491 


492  APPENDIX. 

VIII.  Means  of  transportation  in  forestry      .     .     .  lo  titles 

IX.  Tariff  on  wood lo  " 

X.  Forest  servitudes  (rights  of  user)  .     .     .     .  i6  " 

XI.  Partition  and  collocation  of  forest  property 

and  associations  for  forest  management     .  5  " 

XII.  Forest  laborers 4     " 

XIII.  Protective  forests 14  " 

XIV.  Supervision  of  private  and  communal  forest 

management 14     " 

XV.    Police  protection  of  forests 16     " 

XVI.    Forest  statistics 31      " 

The  scope  of  Dr.  Schwappach's  treatment  of  the  part  en- 
titled Forest  Politics,  will  appear  from  a  statement  of  the 
headings :  — 

I.    Conditions  of  production  in  forestry  .     .     .     28  pages 
II.    The  significance  of  forests  in  the  national 

economy 18     " 

III.  Forest  policies  (Forstwirthschaftspflege)      .145      " 

1.  The  state  forest. 

2.  Forestry  education. 

3.  Forestry  experimentation. 

4.  Forest  statistics. 

5.  Forestry  associations. 

6.  Transportation  of  wood. 

7.  Tariifs  on  wood. 

8.  Servitudes. 

9.  Division  and  amalgamation  of  forest  properties. 
10.  Insurance  of  forest  laborers. 

IV.  Forest  police 61  pages 

1.  Protective  forests. 

2.  Supervision  of  private  forestry. 

3.  Supervision  of  corporate  forests. 

4.  Police  protection. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  493 

In  the  catalogue  of  the  Library  of  the  Royal  Saxon  Forest 
Academy  at  Tharandt,  pubHshed  in  1900  and  containing  a  Ust 
of  over  23,000  volumes,  the  subdivision  entitled  Forest  Admin- 
istration, Forest  Politics,  and  Forest  Statistics  alone  contains 
731  titles. 

In  the  "  Handwbrterbuch  der  Staatswissenschaften,"  edited 
by  Conrad,  Elster,  Lexis,  and  Loening  (Jena,  1900,  Gustav 
Fisher),  an  excellent  article  on  Forsten  by  M.  Endres  treats 
the  subject  on  64  large  8vo  pages  very  comprehensively  and 
somewhat  in  the  manner  of  the  present  volume,  in  three 
chapters,  namely,  I,  Significance,  Extent,  and  History  of 
Forests;  II,  Forest  Management;  III,  Forest  Politics.  A 
selected  bibliography  accompanies  each  chapter;  the  last 
chapter  more  particularly  referring  to  our  subject  contains 
only  63  titles  and  the  entire  bibliography  about  160  titles. 
The  writer  is  indebted  for  much  statistical  information  to  this 
article. 

In  the  "  Handbuch  der  Forstwissenschaft,"  edited  by  Dr. 
Tuisko  Lorey  (Tiibingen,  1887,  3  vols,  large  8vo),  one  of 
the  best  encyclopaedic  works  for  the  professional  forester, 
J.  Lehr,  the  author  of  the  very  complete  chapter  on  Forest 
Politics,  contents  himself  with  a  bibliography  of  24  titles. 

These  four  lists  lay  naturally  all  or  special  stress  on  German 
publications. 

The  French  literature  contains  only  few  comprehensive 
treatises  on  the  subject,  but  a  large  amount  of  ephemeral  or 
magazine  writings,  especially  on  the  reboisement  of  the 
mountain  forests,  climatic  influences,  the  duty  of  the  state,  etc. 
The  best  journal  of  reference  is  "  Revue  des  eaux  et  forets." 

The  best  work  on  the  extensive  reboisement  operations  of 
the  French  government  is  that  of  Demontzey. 

The  English  literature  shows  a  considerable  dearth  of 
literature  on  all  forestry  subjects,  except  with  reference  to  the 
forests  of  India,  the  Indian  Forester  being  now  the  only 
English  forestry  journal  since  the  Jour7tal  of  Forestry  was 
abandoned  seventeen  years  ago. 


494  APPENDIX. 

In  the  following  list  of  books  only  a  few  standard  works  of 
general  interest  and  works  of  reference  are  given,  which  cover 
the  subject  sufficiently  for  the  general  reader.  The  student 
is  referred  for  fuller  lists  to  the  above-cited  sources.  The 
list  of  American  reference  books  has  been  made  as  full  as 
possible. 

German. 
Arndt,  E.     Die  Privatforstwirthschaft  in  Preussen.     Berlin, 

1889. 
Arnold,  v.     Russlands  Wald.     Berlin,  1893. 
Bedo,  A.     Die  wirthschaftliche  u.  commerzielle  Beschreibung 

der  Walder  des  Ungarischen  Staates.     Budapest,  1885. 
Bernhardt,  A.     Die  Waldwirthschaft  und  der  Waldschutz  mit 

besonderer  Rucksicht  auf  die  Waldschutzgesetzgebung  in 

Preussen.     Berlin,  1869. 
Bernhardt,  A.     Geschichte  des  Waldeigenthums,  der  Wald- 
wirthschaft u.  Forstwissenschaft  in  Deutschland.    3  vols. 

Berlin,  1872-3.     A  standard  work. 
Dankelman,  B.     Die  deutschen  Nutzholzzolle.     Eine  Wald- 

schutzschrift.     Berlin,  1883. 
Ebermayer.     Die  physikalischen  Einwirkungen  des  Waldes 

auf  Luft,  etc.    Aschaffenburg,  1873.    The  first  attempt  of 

a  scientific  discussion  of  forest  influences  on  the  basis  of 

extensive  experimental  data. 
V.  Fischbach,  C.     Lehrbuch  der  Forstwissenschaft.     Berlin, 

1886.     The  best  brief  treatment  of  the  technicalities. 
Hagen-Donner.     Die  forstlichen  Verhaltnisse  Preussens.      2 

vols.      3d   ed.      Berlin,    1894.     An   excellent,    complete 

statistical  and  economic  account  of  the  Prussian  forest 

administration. 
Henko,  K.  H.     Beitrage  zur  Statistik  der  Forsten  des  euro- 

paischen  Russlands.     Petersburg,  1888.     Translated  by 

Guse.     Berlin,  1889. 
Lehr,  J.     Beitrage  zur   .Statistik  der   Preise,  besonders   des 

Geldes  und  Holzes.     Frankfurt,  1885. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  495 

Lehr,  J.  Die  deutschen  Holzzolle  und  deren  Erhbhung. 
Frankfurt,  1883.  Economic  arguments  for  retention  and 
abolition  of  tariff  on  wood  imports  by  two  good  authori- 
ties. 

V.  Loffelholz-Colberg,  F.  Chrestomatie :  Die  Bedeutung  und 
Wichtigkeit  des  Waldes,  etc.  Leipzig,  1872.  Interest- 
ing compilation  of  references  and  quotations  from  authors 
of  all  countries  regarding  the  question  of  forest  in- 
fluences. 

Lorentz  Liburnau.  Wald,  Klima  und  Wasser.  Munchen, 
1878.  The  best  popular  discussion  of  forest  influences 
by  the  most  prominent  scientific  investigator  of  the 
subject. 

Lorey,  T.  Editor.  Handbuch  der  Forstwissenschaft,  3  vols. 
Tiibingen,  1887.  The  best  encyclopaedic  professional 
handbook. 

Mayr,  H.  Die  Waldungen  von  Nordamerika.  Munchen, 
1894.  A  good  compilation,  upon  the  basis  of  personal 
visits,  on  forest  flora  and  forest  conditions  of  the  United 
States. 

Rentzsch.  Der  Wald  im  Haushalte  der  Natur  und  der  Volks- 
wirthschaft.     Leipzig,  1862. 

Schindler.     Die  Forste  Oesterreichs. 

Schwappach,  A.  Handbuch  der  Forst-  und  Jagdgeschichte 
Deutschlands.     BerHn,  1883  and  1892. 

Schwappach,  A.  Forstpolitik,  Jagd-  und  Fischereipolitik. 
Leipzig,  1894. 

V.  Seckendorff.  Die  forstlichen  Verhaltnisse  Frankreichs. 
Leipzig,  1880. 

V.  Seckendorff.  Uber  die  wirthschaftliche  Bedeutung  der 
Wildbachverbauung  und  Aufforstung  der  Gebirge.  Wien, 
1883. 

Weber,  R.  Der  Wald  im  Haushalte  der  Natur  und  des 
Menschen.     Berlin,  1875. 

Woeickof.  Die  Klimen  der  Erde.  Jena,  1887.  Brings  many 
data  on  the  influence  of  forests  on  climate. 


496  APPENDIX. 

AUgemeine  Forst  u.  Jagdzeitung  (since  1825).  Frankfurt  a.  M. 
Zeitschrift  fiir  Forst-  und  Jagdwesen.     Berlin.     Since  i86g. 

The  two  oldest  and  best  German  forestry  journals. 
Beitrage   zur   Forststatistik   des    deutschen    Reichs.      Berlin, 

1884. 

French. 

Annuaire  des  eaux  et  forets.  Paris.  (For  statistical  informa- 
tion.) 

P.  do  Boixo.  Les  forets  et  le  reboisement  dans  les  Pyrdndes 
orientales.     Paris,  1894. 

J.  Clave.     Etudes  sur  1' economic  forestiere.     Paris,  1862. 

M.  Demontzey.  Reboisement  et  Gazonnement  des  montagnes. 
2d  ed.     Paris,  1882. 

C.  Grandjean.  Les  landes  et  les  dunes  de  Gascogne.  Paris, 
1896. 

A.  Maury.     Les  forets  de  la  Gaule.     Paris,  1867. 

A.  Noel.    Etudes  forestiferes.   Note  sur  la  statistique  forestiere. 

Paris,  1884. 
Puton  et  Guyot.     Code  forestier.     Paris,  1900. 
Revue  des  eaux  et  forets.     Paris.     (The  forestry  journal  of 

France.) 

Italian. 

Bertagnoli.     I  Boschi  e  la  nostra  Politica  forestale.    Bologna, 
1889 
Statistica  forestale.     Firenze,  1870. 

English. 

John  Croumbie  Brown.  16  volumes  on  forests  and  forestry 
conditions  in  various  countries.  Edinburgh  and  London, 
1875-1887. 

B.  H.  Baden-Powell.     Forest  law.     London,  1894. 

B.  Ribbentrop.     Forestry  in  British  India.     Calcutta,  1900. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


497 


Wm.  Schlich.     Manual  of  Forestry.     5  vols.     2d  ed.     Lon- 
don, 1896. 

Vol.  I  contains  chapters  on  the  direct  and  indirect  utility  of 
forests,  the  state  in  relation  to  forestry,  and  forestry  in  Britain 
and  India. 

Journal  of  Forestry  and  Estates  Management.     11  vols.     Lon- 
don, I 877-1 885. 

American. 

No  single  book  treats  of  the  subject  of  economics  of  forestry 
professionally,  but  the  journal  literature,  proceedings  of  asso- 
ciations, and  official  reports  are  discussing  many  phases  of  it. 

Among  these  should  first  of  all  be  mentioned  the  various 
Government  Reports :  — 

Reports  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office,  Washington,  D.C. 

The  first  comprehensive  discussion,  containing  a  large 
amount  of  information  on  the  conditions  then  prevailing  and 
the  prospects,  are  two  long  articles,  namely,  one  published  in 
the  report  for  i860,  — 

"The  forests  and  trees  of  northern  America  as  connected 
with  climate  and  agriculture,"  by  J.  G.  Cooper, 

and  the  other,  published  in  1865, — 

"American  forests,  their  destruction  and  preservation,"  by 
Rev.  Frederic  Starr. 

The  following  is  a  complete  reference  list  to  forestry  sub- 
jects in  the  reports  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  from 
the  years  i860  to  1886 :  — 

Forest  acreage  in  farms  by  states,  1875,  247- 
and  farm  areas  by  states,  1884,  490. 
area  of  United  States  by  states,  1885,  ^86. 
cultivation,  general  remarks,  1851,  53. 
on  the  Great  Plains,  article,  1872,  316. 

2K 


498  APPENDIX. 

Forest,  culture,  circular  asking  information,  185S,  75. 

experiment,  1875,  336. 

historical  review,  1870,  226. 

laws  for  encouragement,  1870,  234. 

profits,  1870,  232. 
destruction  in  the  northwest,  notes,  1872,  443. 
fires,  remarks,  1883,  457. 
products,  distribution  of  exports,  1872,  59. 

extent  and  value,  1883,  450. 
resources.  Brewer's  analysis,  1875,  352- 
schools,  general  remarks,  1883,  459. 
trees,  culture  and  management,  1864,  43  ;  1872,  161. 

evergreen,  in  northern  New  England,  report  on  causes  of 
destruction,  1883,  138;   1884,374;   1885,319. 

methods  of  planting,  1864,  45  ;   1870,  228. 

of  United  States,  Centennial  collection,  1875,  ^S^* 

sowing  seeds  and  raising  young  plants,  1878,  203. 

transplanting,  remarks,  1878,  204. 
report,  1850,  455. 
warnings  from  history,  1865,  225. 
Forests,  American,  destruction  and  preservation,  1865,  210. 

evils  of  past  destruction,  1865,  210. 
and  timber,  statistical  information,  1868,  447. 
as  connected  with  climate  and  agriculture,  remarks,  i860, 

416. 
climatic  influence,  1883,453;   1885,  196;   1886,  152. 
distribution  in  United  States,  1885,  188. 
increase  or  decrease,  general  remarks,  1885,  190. 
influence  on  health,  i860,  443. 

soil,  i860,  441. 

streams  and  droughts,  1885,  192. 
notes  on  rapid  destruction,  1884,  154. 
of  United    States    by   states,    notes   and    statistics,    1875 

249  flf. 
Forestry,  experiment  stations,  remarks,  1883,  158. 
historical  sketch  of  Arbor  Day,  1886,  181. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  499 

Forestry,  in  schools,  remarks,  1883,  458. 
investigation,  outline  of  system,  1887,  614. 

progress,  article,  1880,  653. 
list  of  publications,  1886,  226, 
literature,  remarks,  1886,  183. 

of  the  Western  states  and  territories,  article,  1878,  515. 
state  encouragement,  1875,334. 
statistics,  article,  1875,  244. 

by  states,  1884,  137. 

In  the  reports  after  the  year  1886  to  1893  the  following 
articles,  mostly  prepared  by  the  writer,  bear  on  the  subject  of 
this  volume :  — 

Report  for  1886  — 

Forestry  problems  of  the  United  States. 

General  principles  of  forestry. 
List  of  ninety  most  important  timber  trees   of  the  United 

States. 
Report  for  1887.     (Special,  not  printed  in  report  of  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture)  — 

Trade  notes  and  tariff  on  lumber  —  mill  capacity  of  United 
States. 

Systematic  plan  of  forestry  work. 

Conditions  of  forestry  interests  in  the  states. 
Report  for  1888  — 

Forest  influences. 

Cultural  and  trade  notes. 
Report  for  1889  — 

Seedling  distribution. 

Timber-culture  acts. 

Influence  of  forests  on  water  supplies. 
Report  for  1890  — 

Wood  pulp  industry. 

Forestry  education. 

Artificial  rainfall. 


500  APPENDIX. 

Report  for  1891  — 

Forest  planting  experiments  in  Nebraska. 

Southern  lumber  pines. 

Forest  reservations  and  their  management. 
Report  for  1 892  — 

Forest  conditions  of  the  United  States  and  the  forestry 
movement. 

Forest  fire  legislation. 

The  naval  store  industry. 
Report  for  1 893  — 

Consumption  and  supply  of  forest  products  in  the  United 
States. 

German  forest  management. 

In  the  Year-book  of  the  Department,  published  since  1894, 
the  following  articles  appear :  — 

Year-book  for  1894  — 

Forestry  for  farmers. 
Year-book  for  1895  — 

The  relation  of  forest  to  farm. 

Tree  planting  on  western  plains. 
Year-book  for  1896  — 

Tree  planting  in  waste  places  on  farms. 

The  uses  of  wood. 
Year-book  for  1897  — 

The  work  of  the  Division  of  Forestry  in  relation  to  the 
farmer. 
Year-book  for  1898  — 

Notes  on  some  forest  problems. 
Year-book  for  1899  — 

Progress  of  forestry  in  the  United  States. 

Practice  of  forestry  by  private  owners. 
Year-book  for  1900  — 

Forest  extension  in  middle  west. 

Practical  forestry  in  southern  Appalachians. 

List  of  forestry  associations. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  501 

List  of  schools  of  forestry. 
Progress  in  forestry. 
Year-book  for  1901  — 

Timber  resources  of  Nebraska. 
Grazing  in  forest  reserves. 
Progress  in  forestry. 

Besides  these  annual  publications  the  following  separate 
Reports  on  Forestry  have  been  published  by  the  Department, 
containing  a  large  amount  of  information  on  various  forestry 
subjects. 

Vol.  I.  Report  upon  Forestry,  prepared  under  the  direction 
of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  in  pursuance  of  an  act  of 
Congress  approved  August  15,  1876.  By  Franklin  B.  Hough. 
Pp.  650.     Index.     1878. 

Vol.  II.  Report  upon  Forestry,  prepared  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  in  pursuance  of  an 
act  of  Congress  approved  August  15,  1876.  By  Franklin  B. 
Hough.     Pp.  618.     Index.     1880. 

Vol.  III.  Report  upon  Forestry,  prepared  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  in  pursuance  of  an 
act  of  Congress  approved  August  15,  1876.  By  Franklin  B. 
Hough.     Pp.  318.     Index.     1882. 

Vol.  IV.  Report  upon  Forestry,  prepared  by  N.  H.  Eggle- 
ston.     Pp.421.     Index,     i  map.     1884. 

The  following  Bulletins  of  the  Division  of  Forestry,  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  refer  more  or  less  directly  to  the  sub- 
ject of  this  volume. 

No.  I.  Report  on  the  Relation  of  Railroads  to  Forest 
Supplies  and  Forestry,  together  with  appendices  on  the  struc- 
ture of  some  timber  ties,  the  behavior,  and  the  cause  of  their 
decay  in  the  roadbed,  on  wood  preservation,  on  metal  ties,  and 
on  the  use  of  spark  arresters.     Pp.  149.     Pis.  7,  figs.  7.     1887. 

No.  2.  Report  on  the  Forest  Conditions  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  with  a  map  showing  the  location  of  forest  areas 
on  the  Rocky  Mountain  range,  and  other  papers.  Pp.  252. 
Map  I,  diagr.  i.     1888. 


502  APPENDIX. 

No.  5.  What  is  Forestry  ?  By  B.  E.  Fernow,  Chief  of 
Division  of  Forestry.     Pp.52.     1891. 

No.  7.     Forest  Influences.     Pp.  197.     Figs.  63.     1893. 

I.  Introduction  and  summary  of  conclusions,  by  B.  E.  Fernow. 
2.  Review  of  forest  meteorological  observations,  a  study  preliminary  to 
the  discussion  of  the  relations  of  forest  to  climate,  by  M.  W.  Harring- 
ton. 3.  Relation  of  forests  to  water  supplies,  by  B.  E.  Fernow.  4.  Notes 
on  the  sanitary  significance  of  forests,  by  B.  E.  Fernow.  Appendices : 
I.  Determination  of  the  true  amount  of  precipitation,  and  its  bearing  on 
theories  of  forest  influences,  by  Cleveland  Abbe.  2.  Analysis  of  rain- 
fall with  relation  to  surface  conditions,  by  George  E.  Curtis. 

No.  9.  Report  on  the  Use  of  Metal  Railroad  Ties,  and  on 
Preservation  Processes  and  Metal  Tie-plates  for  Wooden  Ties. 
By  E.  E.  Russell  Tratman,  A.  M.,  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.  (supple- 
mentary to  Report  on  the  Substitution  of  Metal  for  Wood  in 
Railroad  Ties,  1890).  Prepared  under  the  direction  of  B.  E. 
Fernow,  Chief  of  Division  of  Forestry.    Pp.363.    Pis.  5.   1894. 

No.  13.  The  Timber  Pines  of  the  Southern  United  States. 
By  Chas.  Mohr,  Ph.D.  Together  with  a  Discussion  of  the 
Structure  of  their  Wood,  by  Filibert  Roth.  Prepared  under 
the  direction  of  B.  E.  Fernow,  Chief  of  Division  of  Forestry. 
Pp.  160.     Pis.  27,  figs.  18.     1896. 

No.  16.  Forestry  Conditions  and  Interests  of  Wisconsin. 
By  Filibert  Roth.  With  a  Discussion  of  Objects  and  Meth- 
ods of  ascertaining  Forest  Statistics,  etc.  By  B.  E.  Fernow. 
Pp.  'jd.     1898. 

No.  21.  Systematic  Plant  Introduction.  By  David  A. 
Fairchild.     Pp.  24.     1898. 

No.  22.  The  White  Pine.  By  V.  M.  Spalding  and  B.  E. 
Fernow.     Pp.  185.     1899. 

No.  25.  Notes  on  Forest  Conditions  of  Puerto  Rico.  By 
Robert  T.  Hill.     Pp.  48.     1899. 

No.  26.  Practical  Forestry  in  the  Adirondacks.  By  Henry 
S.  Graves.     Pp.  85.     1899. 

No.  34.  A  History  of  the  Lumber  Industry  in  the  State  of 
New  York.     By  William  F.  Fox.     1902. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  503 

Miscellaneous  Publications  prepared  by  Agents  of  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture.  —  Catalogue  of  the  forest  trees  of  the 
United  States  which  usually  attain  a  height  of  16  feet  or 
more,  with  notes  and  brief  descriptions  of  the  more  important 
species.     Pp.  38.     1876. 

Preliminary  report  on  the  forestry  of  the  Mississippi  Valley 
and  tree  planting  on  the  Plains.  By  F.  P.  Baker  and  R.  W. 
Furnas.     Pp.  45.     1883. 

Arbor  Day,  its  history  and  observance.  By  N.  H.  Egles- 
ton.     Pp.  80.     Figs.  12.     1896. 

Miscellaneous  Special  Report  No.  5.  The  proper  value  and 
management  of  government  timber  lands  and  the  distribution 
of  North  American  forest  trees,  being  papers  read  at  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  May  7  and  8,  1884. 
Pp.  47.     1884. 

Miscellaneous  Report  No.  10.  A  descriptive  catalogue  of 
manufactures  from  native  woods,  as  shown  in  the  exhibit  of 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  at  the  World's 
Industrial  and  Cotton  Exposition  at  New  Orleans,  La.  By 
Charles  Richards  Dodge.     Pp.  81.     1886. 

Forestry  in  the  United  States.  By  B.  E.  Fernow.  Report 
of  United  States  commissioners  to  the  Universal  Exposition 
of  1889  at  Paris.     Vol.  V,  pp.  747-777.     Pis.  6.     1891. 

Statements  before  Congressional  Committees  and  in  answer 
to  Senate  Resolutions.  —  Public  timber  lands,  report  of  E.  A. 
Bowers  relative  to  desirable  legislation.  Ex.  Doc,  No.  242, 
Fiftieth  Congress,  first  session.     Pp.  24.     1888. 

Statement  on  the  relation  of  irrigation  problems  to  forest 
conditions,  by  B.  E.  Fernow,  before  Special  Senate  Committee 
on  Irrigation  and  Reclamation  of  Arid  Lands.  Fifty-first 
Congress,  first  session.  Senate  Report  No.  928,  Vol.  4,  pp. 
1 15-124.     1890. 

Statements  in  Report  No.  1002,  Fifty-second  Congress,  first 
session.  (To  accompany  S.  3235)  "to  provide  for  the  estab- 
lishment, protection,  and  administration  of  public  forest  reser- 
vations, and  for  other  purposes."     Pp.  12.     1892. 


504  APPENDIX. 

Senate  Document  No.  172,  Fifty-third  Congress,  second 
session.  Letter  from  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  .  .  .  trans- 
mitting information  in  relation  to  investigations  and  experi- 
ments in  the  planting  of  native  pine  seed  in  the  sand  hills  of 
the  Northwest.     Pp.  14.     8vo.     1894. 

Statements  in  House  Report  No.  1442,  Fifty-third  Con- 
gress, second  session.  Investigations  and  Tests  of  American 
Timbers.     Pp.  4.     1894. 

Statements  in  House  Report  No.  497.  Public  Forest 
Reservations.     Pp.  23.     1894. 

Statement  of  B.  E.  Fernow,  Chief  of  Forestry  Division,  to 
the  Committee  on  Agriculture,  House  of  Representatives  [in 
support  of  H.  R.  8389  and  H.  R.  8390,  providing  for  forestry 
schools],  February  16,  1895.     Pp.  4. 

Senate  Document  No.  40,  Fifty-fifth  Congress,  first  session, 
White  Pine  Timber  Supplies.  Statement  prepared  by  the 
Chief  of  the  Division.  Letter  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 
Pp.  21.     1897. 

Senate  Document  No.  105,  Fifty-fifth  Congress,  first  session. 
Report  of  a  committee  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences 
on  forest  policy  for  the  forested  lands  of  the  United  States, 
Pp.  49.     1897. 

Report  upon  Forestry  Investigation  of  the  U.S.  Department 
of  Agriculture,  1 877-1 898,  by  B.  E.  Fernow.  H.  R.  Doc. 
No.  181,  55th  Congress,  3d  session,  1899.     4°'  PP-     4^0- 

Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States  trans- 
mitting a  report  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  in  relation  to 
the  forests,  rivers,  and  mountains  of  the  southern  Appalachian 
region.     Washington,  D.C.     Pp.  210.     1902. 

Reports  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington,  D.C.  — 
Sixteenth  Report,  1894-1895,  Part  II,  The  public  lands  and 
their  water  supply.     By  F.  H.  Newell.     Pp.  463-532. 

Nineteenth  Report,  1898,  part  V,  Forest  Reserves. 

Twentieth  Report,  1900,  Part  V,  Forest  Reserves,  gives 
detailed  report  on  a  number  of  reserves,  also  articles  on  forest 
conditions  and  standing  timber  of  Washington  and  forests  of 
the  United  States  by  H.  Gannett. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  505 

Reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office, 
Department  of  the  Interior,  Washington,  D.C.,  give  statistical 
and  administrative  information  regarding  the  management  of 
public  timber  lands  and  forest  reserves,  also  Forest  Reserve 
Manual  for  the  information  and  use  of  forest  officers,  1902. 
Pp.  90. 

Reports  of  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Treasury  Department, 
Washington,  D.C.,  gives  statistics  of  exports  and  imports, 
monthly,  quarterly,  and  annually,  prepares  annually  Statistical 
Abstract  of  the  United  States,  and  also  issues  in  the  Monthly 
Summary  of  Commerce  and  Finance  valuable  special  reports, 
among  which,  T/ie  Lumber  Trade  of  the  United  States,  1900, 
pp.  1081-1169. 

Reports  of  Department  of  State,  Washington,  D.C.  —  Con- 
sular Reports  contain  references  to  forestry,  and  forest  condi- 
tions in  foreign  lands. 

Forestry  in  Europe,  a  special  publication  brings  details  of 
reports  from  the  consuls  of  the  United  States,  1887,  also 
Forest  Culture  in  Sweden,  by  C.  C.  Andrews,  1872.     Pp.  48. 

Census  of  i860,  1870,  1880,  1890,  1900,  Washington,  D.C, 
give  statistics  of  lumber  industry.  As  a  result  of  the  9th 
Census  an  article  on  The  Woodland  atid  Forest  Systems  of  the 
United  States,  with  a  map  showing  forest  distribution,  by  Prof. 
F.  W.  Brewer,  was  published  in  the  Statistical  Atlas  of  the 
United  States,  1874. 

Vol.  IX  of  the  loth  Census  (1880),  pp.  612,  is  the  first  com- 
prehensive statement  on  forest  conditions :  Report  on  the 
forests  of  North  Atnerica,  by  Chas.  S.  Sargent,  1884. 

Vol.  IX,  Part  III,  of  the  12th  Census  (1900), "  Selected 
Industries,"  contains  an  extensive  compilation  of  the  statistics 
of  the  lumber  and  other  forest  industries  on  122  pages. 

Smithsonian  Institute  Report,  1 869 :  Forests  and  their 
climatic  influence,  by  A.  C.  Becquerel,  translated  from  the 
French. 

Reports  of  State  Commissions.  —  California  State  Board  of 
Forestry,  3  reports,  1 885-1 890. 


5o6  APPENDIX. 

Colorado  Forest  Commissioner,  3  reports,  1 885-1 890. 

Kansas  State  Horticultural  Society  reports  on  forestry  since 
1879. 

Maine  Forest  Commissioner,  annual  reports  since  1891. 

Michigan  Forestry  Commission  reports,  1 887-1 888,  1900- 
1901. 

Minnesota  Chief  Fire  Warden,  annual  reports  since  1895. 

New  Jersey  Geological  Survey  reports  on  forestry  since 
1880. 

New  Hampshire  Forestry  Commission,  annual  reports  since 
1893. 

New  York  Forest  Commission  (now  Forest,  Fish,  and 
Game  Commission),  annual  reports  since  1886;  Forest  Pre- 
serve Board  since  1897. 

New  York  State  College  of  Forestry,  annual  reports  of  the 
director  since  1899. 

North  Carolina  Geological  Survey,  Bulletin  5,  6,  and  7. 

Ohio  State  Forestry  Bureau,  five  annual  reports  since  1886. 

Pennsylvania  Department  of  Agriculture,  Division  of  For- 
estry, annual  reports  since  1895. 

Canada.  —  Report  of  the  forest  wealth  of  Canada  by  the 
statistician  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  pp.  339.  Ottawa, 
1895. 

Report  of  the  Chief  Inspector  of  Timber  and  Forestry, 
annual  since  1899. 

Ontario  Bureau  of  Forestry,  annual  reports  since  1891. 

Association  Reports.  —  Proceedings  of  the  American  For- 
estry Association,  1883-1897,  Vols.  I-XII. 

American  Economic  Association,  Vol.  VI,  No.  3,  loi  pp., 
contains  several  papers  on  forestry  subjects. 

Canadian  Forestry  Association,  reports  since  1900. 

Journals.  —  The  American  Journal  of  Forestry,  edited  by 
F.  B.  Hough,  I  vol.     1882-1883. 

Garden  and  Forest,  by  C.  S.  Sargent,  Vols.  I-X.    1888-1897, 

The  Forester  (now  Forestry  and  Irrigation),  Vols.  I-VIII, 
1S95.     (Originally  published  by  John  Gifford,  then  by  the 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  507 

American  Forestry  Association,  now  by  H.  M.  Suter.)  Wash- 
ington, D.C. 

Forest  Leaves,  published  by  Pennsylvania  Forestry  Asso- 
ciation since  1892. 

Water  and  Forest,  a  quarterly,  by  California  Water  and 
Forest  Association  since  1900. 

Forestry  Quarterly  (the  first  professional  journal),  published 
by  students  and  faculty  of  New  York  State  College  of  For- 
estry.    1902. 

Books  of  Interest  in  Connection  with  the  Subject.  —  George 
P.  Marsh,  The  Earth  as  Modified  by  Man,  Chapters  on  The 
Woods  and  the  Waters.     1877. 

Popular  Elementary  Treatises  (a  few  of  the  many).  —  E. 
Bruncken,  North  American  Forests  and  Forestry,  pp.  265. 
New  York,  1900. 

J.  Gilford,  Practical  Forestry,     pp.  284.     New  York,  1902. 

F.  B.  Hough,  The  Elements  of  Forestry.     Cincinnati,  1882. 

F.  Roth,  First  Book  of  Forestry,    pp.  291.     Boston,  1902. 


INDEX. 


Abbe,  C,  quoted,  432-433. 

Absolute  forest  soils,  122,  243. 

Acclimatization,  144,  460. 

Accretion,  rate  of,  108-109;  laws 
of,  152-164;  normal,  201-203, 
206-208;  maximum,  211-212. 

Adirondack  Preserve,  86,  387,  390. 

Administration,  forest.  See  Policy, 
forest. 

Afforesting,  defined,  83. 

Africa,  forestry  in,  290. 

Age  of  timber  trees,  41,  43,  107, 
355;  in  relation  to  growth,  153- 
154;  classification  by,  128-129, 
201-204;  felling,  208-211,  226. 

Agriculture,  17-18;  use  of  wood  in, 
24;  compared  with  forestry,  32, 
106,  110-126,  240-241,  243,  334, 
456,  464. 

Air,  temperature  and  humidity  of, 
69-70, 435-439 ;  as  food-provider, 
120. 

Alaska,  forests  in,  333;  reserva- 
tions in,  410. 

Alcohol,  wood,  30,  190,  429. 

Algeria,  deforestation  of,  12. 

Allotment  method  of  regulating 
fellings,  204. 

Almirante,  Admiral,  59. 

Altitude,  relation  of,  to  species,  142. 

American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science,  377. 

American  Forestry  Association, 
382-383,  400-405. 

American  Lumberman,  quoted,  479- 


Ancus  Martius,  forest  regulations 
of,  91. 


Animals,  as  forest  destroyers,  55, 
184-185. 

Apennines,  deforestation  of,  58-59. 

Arbor  day,  92,  297,  379. 

Area,  forest,  statistics  of,  35-36,  54, 
430-431 ;  necessary  size  of,  115- 
116,  132-133,  451 ;  in  Germany, 
316;  in  the  U.S.,  334-339,  471- 
475- 

Aristotle,  quoted,  58. 

Asia,  Western,  deforestation  of,  12. 

Assessment  of  forest  property,  250- 
253- 

Associations,  forestry,  241-242, 316, 
370,  381-383,  391,401,471 ;  sport- 
ing, 346. 

Atlantic  forests,  331-332,  350-351, 
474- 

Australia,  forestry  in,  289-290. 

Austria,  wood  production  in,  47; 
experiments  in,  64,  443  ;  exploita- 
tion in,  257 ;  forest  policy  of,  271, 
294-295. 

Bacilli,  78,  447, 

Bacteria,  120. 

Baden,  forest  policy  of,  322-323. 

Bamboo,  192,  282. 

Bark,  use  of,  in  tanning,  28,  86,424. 

Bavaria,  meteorological  observa- 
tions in,  63;  forest  fires  in,  137, 
I90«.-I9i;  insect  pests  in,  137, 
185  n. ;  forest  policy  of,  320-321 ; 
wood  prices  in,  457. 

Becquerel,  61,  63. 

Beluchistan,  forests  in,  286. 

Berea  College,  Kentucky,  forestry 
instruction  at,  238,  400. 


509 


510 


INDEX. 


Bibliography,  491-507. 

Biltmore,  N.C.,  school  at,  238,  399. 

Bilterroot  Reserve,  360. 

Black  Hills,  359. 

Bole,  growth  of,  90,  118-119,  150, 

154-156,  180-181. 
Bookkeeping,  in  forestry,  226-227. 
Bosnia-Herzegovina,   forest  policy 

of,  294. 
Boston,  park  system  of,  385. 
Botany,  relation  of,  to  forestry,  100- 

lOI. 

Bounties,  244-245, 248-249, 268, 378. 

Boussingault,  61. 

Brandis,  Sir  Dietrich,  279. 

Brazil,  importation  of  wood  by,  34. 

Brush  wood,  155,  335. 

Budget,  felling,  128,  201-222,  226. 

Buffon,  quoted,  60. 

Building  construction,  use  of  wood 
in,  26-27. 

Bureau  of  Forestry,  U.S.  See 
United  States  Bureau  of  For- 
estry. 

Burma,  forests  of,  281 ;  teak  in,  285. 

Business,  forestry  as  a.  See  Econo- 
my, forest. 

By-products,  forest,  28-31,  424-425. 

California,  forests  of,  361-363; 

forest  legislation  in,  397-398. 
Campagna  Roniana,  77-78. 
Canada,  exportation  of  wood  by, 

37,  253,  258,  468  ;  wood  prices  in, 

458-459;   forestry  movement  in, 

467-471. 
Capacity  of  forests,  42-46. 
Cape  Colony,  forest  policy  of,  290. 
Capital  invested    in   forestry,   125- 

139,  230;  in  the  U.S.,  32-33,  373, 

485  ;  in  Germany,  50. 
Carbohydrates,  119. 
Carbonic  acid,  in  forests,  77. 
Carpenter,  L.  G.,  447. 
Cascade  Range,  forests  of,  333,  360- 

362. 


Cellulose,  25,  27,  421. 
Census  reports,  376,  422,  471-480. 
Charcoal  industry,  178,  190. 
Charlemagne,  forest  regulations  of, 

300. 
Chase,  laws  of  the,  9,  82-83,  288, 

302-304. 
Chemical  changes  in  wood,  108. 
Chlorophyll,  147. 
Cicero,  quoted,  58. 
Civilization,  relation  of,  to  forestry, 

19,  21-31. 
Clearing  system,  45,  171-173. 
Cleveland,  President,  403-404. 
Climatic  conditions,  relation  of,  to 

forestry,  ir-14,  17-18,  54-55,  59- 

71,  90,  101-102,  117-118,  141-146, 

156,    229,   298-299,    439-444;    in 

India,  280-281 ;  in  the  U.S.,  334, 

368. 
Coal,   exhaustion   of,   8-9,   11;    as 

fuel,  27,  421. 
Coast  Range,  forests  of,  333,  361- 

362. 
Code  forestier ,  217. 
Colbert,  forest  ordinance  of,  60. 
Colleges  of   forestry,  in   the  U.S., 

238,  390-391.  399-400. 
Colorado,  constitutional  provisions 

of.  395 ;  forest  legislation  in,  396- 

397;  irrigation  in,  447. 
Columbus,  Christopher,  60. 
Commissions,  forestry,  384  ;  in  New 

York  State,  387-388. 
Communal  ownership,  269-273 ;  in 

Germany,     264,     301-307,    310- 

Competition,  destructive  tendency 
of,  2,  8,  255-258,  359. 

Conditions,  forest,  defined,  85,  87- 
90. 

Conifers,  value  of,  34 ;  in  the  U.S., 
40-41,  348, 350-362,  481-484, 486 ; 
growth  rate  of,  108-109;  transpi- 
ration of,  121 ;  sprouting  of,  177, 
464. 


INDEX. 


SII 


Connecticut,  forest  legislation  in, 
394- 

Consumption  of  wood,  in  the  U.S., 
25.  51.  337-339.  475-480;  statis- 
tics of,  36-41,  416-429. 

Cooper,  J.  G.,  375. 

Cooperation  in  forestry,  263,  266, 
268,  312,  380. 

Cooper's  Hill,  England,  forestry 
school  at,  289. 

Coppice,  129-131,  177-179,  356, 
451,  464. 

Cornell  University,  College  of  For- 
estry at,  238,  390-391,  399-400- 

Corporation  forests,  in  Germany, 
317,  322-323. 

Cover,  forest,  value  of,  68-76,  228, 
265,  347.  444- 

Crop,  forest,  when  ripe,  102,  106- 
iio;  comparison  of,  with  agricul- 
tural crop,  111-127;  taxation  of, 
250-251. 

Crown,  growth  of,  147-150,  154- 
15s;  importance  of,  158;  tem- 
perature of,  436. 

Crown  Timber  Act,  468. 

Culling,  44,  95,  127-128,  167-168, 
173-174.  189,  195-196,  337,  343- 
345.  357- 

Cuttings,  improvement,  169-170. 

Cypress,  Bald,  356. 

Debris,  188-190. 

Deforestation,  effects  of,  12-13,  58- 

63-93-95,  265-267;  in  Italy,  91, 

296;  in  Germany,  256,  313,329; 

in  France,  276-277 ;    in  the  U.S., 

367-368. 
Dehra    Dun,    forestry   school    at, 

289. 
Dendrology,  loo-ioi. 
Deserts,  12,  55. 
Deterioration  of  forests,  20,  45-46, 

168,  178,  229;    in  the  U.S.,  335, 

479-480,  481. 
Diameter,  growth  in,  154;  limit  of, 


in  cutting,  196,  209-211,  217-221, 

352-353- 
Disafforesting,  defined,  83. 
Distillation  of  wood,  30. 
Distribution,  of  forests,  35,  331-337, 

431,  474;  of  species,  141-149. 
Districting,  forest,  222-226. 
Drainage,  influence  of  forests  on, 

19-20,  72-75,  77-78,  444-447. 
Dunes,  sand,  in  France,  77,  277  ;  in 

Russia,  292;   in  the  U.S.,  368. 
Duties,  protective,  245,  253-258. 

Ebermayer,  Dr.  E,,  63,  432. 

Economic  questions,  relative  im- 
portance of,  7-8. 

Economy,  of  resources,  6-9,  415 ; 
forest,  96-97,  100,  102-103,  197- 
227;  in  wood  consumption,  339, 
355- 

Education,  forestry,  236-244;  in 
France,  277;  in  India,  289;  in 
Russia,  293;  in  Germany,  315- 
316;  in  Japan,  330;  in  the  U.S., 
390-391,  399-401. 

Egypt,  forest  policy  of,  290. 

Eminent  domain,  16,  269-273,  415- 
416. 

England,  royal  forests  in,  83 ;  forest 
conditions  in,  278. 

Erichthonios,  legend  of,  58. 

Erosion,  relation  of  forests  to,  12, 
19.  75-76,  367.  445- 

Ethics,  influence  of  forests  on,  66. 

Eucalyptus,  77,  289-290. 

Europe,  deforestation  of,  12;  pa- 
ternalism in,  245 ;  forest  policy 
in,  274-278,  291-329;  forestry 
education  in,  277,  293,  315-316. 

Evaporation,  70,  437-438,  444. 

Exeter,  N.H.,  forest  legislation  of, 
369- 

Exotics,  460. 

Experiment  stations,  240-241;  in 
Europe,  64,  316;  in  the  U.S., 
394-395.  397- 


512 


INDEX. 


Exploitation  of  forests,  2-3,  11-12, 
19,  44-46,  90,  95,  127-128,  167- 
168,  195,  199,  228-230,  329,  343- 
345;  effect  of  tariff  on,  253-255, 
258;  in  the  U.S.,  366-367,  371- 
376 ;  in  Canada,  468-469. 

Exportation  of  wood,  37-40,  458- 
459,  468,  480-481. 

Expropriation  of  forests  for  state 
purposes,  270-273. 

Famine,  wood,  in  the  U.S.,  369- 
371,  374-376;  in  Germany,  487- 
489. 

Felling  age,  208-211,  226. 

Felling  budget,  128,  201-222,  226. 

Felling  series,  223-226. 

Fertility  of  soil,  improved  by  for- 
ests, 120. 

Finance,  forest,  213-222,  452-459; 
in  Germany,  324-328 ;  in  the 
U.S.,  480-481. 

Fires,  forest,  29,  133-134,  137,  168, 
186-191,  229,  344,  360,  365-367; 
protection  against,  191-196,  259- 
263,  283-284,  398-399,  467,  469- 
470. 

Fisheries,  9,  11-12. 

Floods,  relation  of  forests  to,  61, 
73^5.  276-277, 318-319,  368, 445- 
446. 

Floor,  forest,  72-73,  76,  444-446. 

Florida,  frost  in,  70. 

Foliage  in  relation  to  wood  pro- 
duction, 152,  155,  157,  179-180. 

Forest,  history  of  word,  81-84,  448- 
450;  functions  of,  85-87,  228; 
normal,  128-129,  201-202. 

Forest  Leaves,  383. 

Forest  Wealth  in  Canada,  458. 

Forester,  defined,  97-98,  448-449. 

Forester,  The,  383. 

Forestry,  history  of,  91-94;  defined, 
9S~97p  449 ;  classification  of,  103- 
105. 

Forestry  Quarterly,  400. 


Forests,  classes  of,  87,  zji-^rjz; 
state,  in  France,  275 ;  in  India, 
280,  288;  in  Russia,  292;  in 
Roumania,  294;  in  Bosnia-Her- 
zegovina, 294 ;  in  Austria,  295  ; 
in  Italy,  296;  in  Germany,  306, 
310;  in  the  U.S.,  {federal)  340- 
342,  401-411,  {separate  states) 
342,  386-391,  395,  397-398;  reve- 
nue from,  452-459. 

Formula  method  of  regulating  fell- 
ings, 204-205. 

Fox,  W.  T.,  quoted,  369. 

France,  deforestation  of,  12-13,  60- 
62,70;  state  control  of  mines  in, 
16 ;  sand-dunes  in,  77,  277 ;  for- 
est policy  of,  270,  275-277;  im- 
portation of  wood  by,  417. 

Franco-German  war,  effect  of,  on 
forestry,  329,  453. 

French  Revolution,  effect  of,  on 
forestry,  60-61,  93-94,  275,  306. 

Frost,  142  ;    in  Florida,  70. 

Fuel,  wood  as,  22-23,  27,  274,  282, 
420-421. 

Future  interests,  safeguarded  by 
state,  5-10,  15-16,  230-231. 

Game,  protection  of,  9,  82-83. 

Gannett,  statistics  compiled  by,  339, 
363,  483-485. 

Gauges,  rain,  64,  432-434,  438-439. 

Geographical  distribution,  of  spe- 
cies, 141-143  ;  of  forests,  in  the 
U.S.,  331-333.  474-475- 

Geology,  relation  of,  to  forestry,  loi. 

Germany,  consumption  of  wood  in, 
27,  37-40,418-419;  forest  policy 
in,  47-50, 91-93,  300-329 ;  forestry 
terminology  in,  84;  agriculture 
and  forestry  in,  112-114,  122,450; 
forest  revenues  in,  132-135,  452- 
456;  spruce  growth  in,  160; 
methods  of  regulating  fellings  in, 
173-174;  rides  in,  193,  222;  dis- 
tricts in,  222;  forestry  schools  in. 


INDEX. 


513 


237-238,315,488;  tariff  legisla- 
tion in,  256-258  ;  classification  of 
forests  in,  306-307,309,313-314; 
paper  pulp  industry  in,  423-424; 
acclimatization  in,  460;  wood 
production  in,  462-464 ;  taxation 
in,  465-467;  wood  famine  in, 
487-489. 

Gerwig,  R.,  quoted,  72-73. 

Gironde,  sand-dunes  in  the,  277. 

Gladbacher  Fire  Insurance  Co.,  467. 

Government.     See  State. 

Grazing  in  forests,  73,  92,  284-285. 

Great  Britain,  importation  of  wood 
by,  37,  416-417. 

Greece,  sterility  of,  59. 

Group  method  of  reproduction, 
174. 

Groves,  consecrated,  57. 

Growth  of  trees,  106-109,  146-156. 

Hardwoods,  34;  rate  of  growth 
of,  108-109 ;  coppice  reproduc- 
tion of,  177;  in  India,  282;  in  the 
U.S.,  348-351.  356,  482-487. 

Harrison,  President,  403. 

Harvest,  time  of,  106-110,  208-211, 
217-219;  cost  of,  125-126. 

Harz  Mountains,  forestry  school  in 
the,  237. 

Hemlock,  use  of,  in  tanning,  28, 
424 ;  in  paper  making,  423. 

Herodotus,  quoted,  59. 

Herzegovina.  See  Bosnia-Herze- 
govina. 

Hesse,  taxation  in,  466. 

Hodges,  L.  B.,  382. 

Homer,  quoted,  57-58. 

Hough,  F.  B.,  424,  432. 

Huckleberry  industry,  30-31. 

Humboldt,  A.  von,  quoted,  62. 

Humidity,  71,  142,  437-444- 

Hungary,  forest  policy  of,  295 ; 
acclimatization  in,  460. 

Hunting,  9,  82-83,  288,  302-304. 

Hygroscopic  water,  121. 
2L 


Idaho,  forests  of,  359-360. 
Importation  of  wood,  37-40;  duty 

on,  253-258  ;    by  England,  278  ; 

by  the  U.S.,  481. 
Improvement,  internal,  267. 
Improvement  cuttings,  169-170. 
Incendiarism,  262,  299. 
Income  tax,  in  Germany,  465-467. 
India,  forest  administration  in,  114- 

115,  217,  278-289;  forest  fires  in, 

192-193. 
Indiana,  forest  legislation   in,  246, 

394- 
Industries,  forest,  27-32,  421-429, 

487. 
Insects,  injury  from,  133,  137,  146, 

282 ;  protection  against,  184-185, 

263. 
Insurance,  forest  fire,  263,  467. 
Intensive  methods,  8,  13,  18,  46-47, 

113-115,  452. 
Interest   on  forestry  capital,    131- 

139,  213-215  ;  in  Germany,  50. 
Internal  improvement,  267. 
International    Forestry    Congress, 

35- 
Investment,  forestry  as  an,  50,  131- 

139,  213-215,  345-346. 
Irrigation,  75;    in  the  West,  U.S., 

342,  447,  487. 
Italy,    forest    laws   in,  58-59,   270, 

296-297 ;  deforestation  of,  91. 

Jamaica,  59. 

Japan,  forest  policy  of,  329-330. 

Jentsch,  Dr.  F.,  456. 

Journals,  forestry,  316,  383,  400. 

Jungles,  in  India,  282-284. 

Kansas,   experiment  stations    in, 

394-395- 
King,  F.  VV.,  440. 
Knots,  90,  107,  180. 

Labor,  required  in  forestry,  3,  50, 
111-117,  274,  450-45I- 


514 


INDEX. 


Lake  region,  U.S.,  pine  supply  in, 
350,  478-479- 

Land,  as  a  resource,  lo-ii. 

Land-owners,  lumbering  methods 
of,  342,  345-346. 

Lapland,  forest  conditions  in,  299. 

Latitude,  relation  of,  to  species, 
141-142. 

Law,  property,  4,  20;  forest,  in 
Italy,  58-59,  296-297;  in  Scot- 
land, 83 «.;  iniheU.S.,  (federal) 
247-248,  378-379,  401-411,  (sepa- 
rate states)  246-247,  369-371, 
377-378,384-399;  in  France,  276- 
277;  in  India,  288;  in  Russia, 
291-293;  in  Roumania,  294;  in 
Austria-Hungary,  295;  in  Swit- 
zerland, 297 ;  in  Sweden,  299 ;  in 
Germany,  300-305,  312-323;  in 
Japan,  330;    fire,   259-263,   398- 

399- 
Legislation,  forest.     See  Law. 
Liburnau,  Dr.  L.,  443. 
Light,  importance  of,  54,  147-158, 

179-183. 
Lightning,   fires   caused    by,    189- 

190  n. 
Literature,   forestry,   316,   37^-37^, 

488-489. 
Litter,  72-73, 120,  451-452;  burning 

of,  188,  444. 
Loans,  state,  268-269. 
Lockwood's  Paper  Trade  Journal, 

quoted,  421-422. 
Locomotives,  fires  caused  by,  189- 

190  n. 
Logging,  expense  of,  225. 
Lumberman,  methods  of,  44-46,  53, 

167-169,  173,  195-196,  199- 
Luneburg  Heath,  268. 

McGee,  J  W,  quoted,  12. 
McRae  bill,  403-405. 
Maine,  forest  legislation  in,  377,  384. 
Malaria,  effect  of  forests  on,  77-79, 
447- 


Malthus,  6. 

Manufactures,  use  of  wood  in,  33, 

426-429. 
Maple  sugar,  29-30. 
Mark  system,  91-92,  301-306,  310. 
Marseilles,     agricultural     society, 

quoted,  61. 
Marsh,  G.  P.,  quoted,  7,  376. 
Massachusetts,  forest  conditions  in, 

42,    178 ;     forest    legislation    in, 

385-386. 
Massachusetts  Society  for  the  Pro- 
motion of  Agriculture,  370. 
"  Master  schools,"  in  Germany,  237 ; 

at  Biltmore,  238,  399. 
Mathematics  in  forestry,  65,  102- 

103,  152-153. 
Mensuration,  forest,  103,  152-153. 
Mercantile  theory,  257. 
Mesopotamia,  deforestation  of,  59. 
Metal,   substitution    of,   for  wood, 

23«.,  29;   production  of,  in  the 

U.S.,  32. 
Meteorology,   relation    of,  to    for- 
estry, 63-71,  loi,  432-444. 
Michigan,  wood  production  in,  372 ; 

forest  legislation  in,  392. 
Microbes  in  forests,  78,  447. 
Middle  Ages,  forests  in  the,  81-84, 

300-305. 
Mill,  J.  S.,  6. 
Mills,  saw,  waste  in,  41,  419-420; 

influence  of,  on  forestry,  345 ;    in 

the  U.S.,  372-373.  475-477- 
Mines,  exhaustion  of,  8,  11;  state 

control  of,  16;    timber  used  in, 

23 ;  revenue  from,  in  the  U.S.,  32. 
Minnesota,  forestry  association  in, 

242;    forest    legislation   in,   242, 

392-393.  398- 
Mirabeau,  Marquis  of,  60. 
Mississippi,  effects  of  deforestation 

upon,  12. 
Mohr,  C,  quoted,  355,  485. 
Moisture,  relation  of,  to  forests,  55, 

69-71,  142,  183,  437-447- 


INDEX. 


515 


Monsoons,  280. 

Moss-cover,  72-73. 

Mountain  districts,  best  use  of,  18, 
122;  waste  in,  28;  waterflow  in, 
75-76,  80;  forest  districts  in,  222, 
487. 

Mushroom  industry,  31. 

Mythology  of  forests,  57-58. 

Nancy,   forestry    school    at,   63, 

277. 
Napoleonic    Wars,    effect    of,    on 

German  forestry,  306. 
National    Academy    of    Sciences, 

U.S.,  404. 
Nature    element   in  forestry,   117- 

125. 
Naval  store  industry,  29,  356,  425. 
Nebraska,  Arbor  day  in,  379. 
New  Alexandria,  forest  institute  at, 

293- 

New  England,  coppice  system  in, 
178. 

New  Hampshire,  forest  legislation 
of,  370,  384-385. 

New  South  Wales,  forest  condi- 
tions in,  289. 

New  York  State,  reservations  in, 
342 ;  forest  legislation  in,  369, 
386-391,  398;  wood  production 
in,  372. 

New  York  State  College  of  For- 
estry, 238,  390-391,  399-400. 

Newell,  F.  H.,  ^ao/i"^,  340, 342, 487. 

Noble,  J.  W.,  402. 

Normal  forest,  128-129,  201-202. 

Normal  stock  method  of  felling, 
204-205. 

North  America,   forest   conditions 

in,  331-334. 
North  Dakota,  forest  commissioner 

of,  394- 
Norway,  forests  of,  298. 
Number  of  trees  in  astand,  181-182 ; 

diminution  in,  150-151,  156,  158- 

159- 


Nuremberg,  forest-planting  in,  92- 

93- 
Nurse  trees,  175,  177. 

Oak,  use  of,  in  tanning,  28,  424; 
in  the  U.S.,  348-349;  reserva- 
tions of,  370-371. 

Oettelt,  method  of  ascertaining  fell- 
ing budget,  217. 

Officials,  forest,  in  Prussia,  113  «.; 
in  India,  114,  287;  payment  of, 
260 ;  powers  of,  262. 

Ohio,  forestry  bureau  of,  394. 

Olive,  cultivation  of,  in  France,  12- 
13,  70. 

Orange  groves,  in  Florida,  70. 

Orchard,  distinguished  from  forest, 
86. 

Oregon,  woodland  area  of,  336  «. ; 
timber  supply  of,  363. 

Ownership  of  forests,  communal, 
269-273  ;  state,  269-271,  275-276, 
280,  291-293,  295;  in  Germany, 
264,  301-307,  310-311,  317-319, 
321-323;  in  the  U.S.,  340-346. 

O.xygen,  amount  of,  in  forests,  -j-j. 

Pacific  forests,  331-333,  336,  340, 

361-364,  474. 
Palestine,  sterility  of,  59,  63. 
Paper-pulp    industry,   25,  27,  345, 

421-424. 
Parks,  public,  385. 
Paternalism,  in  the  U.S.,  232,  245- 

249. 
Penn,  William,  369. 
Pennsylvania,  forest  legislation  in, 

247,  369,  391 ;  state  ownership  in, 

342. 
Pennsylvania  State  Forestry  Asso- 
ciation, 383. 
Periodicals,  forestry,  316,  383,  400. 
Pettenkoffer,  447. 
Philippine  Islands,  forest  policy  in, 

411. 
Pine,  naval  stores  from,  29;  value 


5i6 


INDEX. 


of,  40-41 ;  exhaustion  of,  234 ;  in 
the  U.S.,  347-362. 
Pioneering  populations,  2,  53,  94- 

95- 

Plant  material,  distribution  of,  245, 
248,  315,  469. 

Plantation,  distinguished  from  for- 
est, 86. 

Plasmodia,  79. 

Plato,  quoted,  58. 

Police,  forest,  186,188, 191,  259-260, 

Policy,  forest,  methods  of,  228-273  '< 
in  Italy,  91,  296-297;  in  France, 
275-277;  in  India,  278-289;  in 
Australia,  289-290;  in  Africa, 
290 ;  in  Russia,  291-294 ;  in  Bos- 
nia-Herzegovina, 294;  in  Rou- 
mania,  294;  in  Austria-Hungary, 
294-295  ;  in  Switzerland,  297-298  ; 
in  Sweden,  298-300;  in  Germany, 
300-329;  in  Japan,  329-330;  in 
the  U.S.,  {federal)  376-379,  401- 
411,  {separate  states)  369-374, 
384-400. 

Pomerania,  huckleberry  industry 
in,  31. 

Prairies  in  the  U.S.,  332,  474. 

Precipitation,  69-70,  438-439,  441- 
442. 

Price  of  wood,  statistics  of,  134-135, 
138, 456-459 ;  stumpage,  220,  420, 
485-486. 

Priest  Forest  Reserve,  360. 

Private  enterprise,  waste  caused  by, 
1-4,  20,  44-46,  228-230,  233-234, 
272-273,  313;  limitation  of,  13- 
16 ;  state  control  of,  in  Germany, 
314-315;  in  the  U.S.,  342-346, 
380-381. 

Products,  forest,  28-33;  statistics 
of,  123-125;  in  the  U.S.,  349- 
350,  426-429. 

Property,  individual,  3-4,  20,  264- 
266;  mediaeval  ideas  of,  262; 
expropriation  of,  270-271, 

Protection  (in  politics) .    See  TarifT, 


Protection  forests,  57, 171,  174,  234- 
235,  267-268,  271-273,  347;  in 
Germany,  318, 

Prussia,  forest  production  in,  30- 
31,47-48;  stations  in,  64;  forest 
officials  in,  113?/,;  forest  policy 
of,  122  «,,  264,  270,  317-320;  cost 
of  soil  in,  126;  fires  in,  133,  137, 
190 «. -192,  262;  wood  prices  in, 
138,  456-458;  state  control  of 
forests  in,  308-309,  312;  defores- 
tation in,  313;  forestry  schools 
in,  315 ;  taxation  in,  465-467, 

Public  lands,  U,S.,  340-342,  403- 
408. 

Public  schools,  forestry  instruction 
in,  239,  388. 

Pulp,  wood,  25,  27,  345,  421-424. 

Railroads,  effect  of,  on  exploita- 
tion, 2,  257,  278-279,  372,  374; 
state  ownership  of,  16;  use  of 
wood  for,  23-24 ;  danger  of  fire 
from,  i89«,-i9o,  194-195,  262; 
effect  of,  on  wood  prices,  458, 
Rain  gauges,  64,  432-434,  438-439, 
Rainfall,  64-65  ;  effect  of  forests  on, 

69-70,438-439;  in  India,  281, 
Ramann,  experiments  of,  446, 
Reforestation,    166-167,    176,    248, 
267-269 ;    in   Germany,   92,  309, 
315,  320,  323 ;  in  France,  277 ;  in 
Russia,  293-294;    in  Roumania, 
294;  in    Austria-Hungary,    295; 
in  Italy,  296-297;  in  Switzerland, 
297;  in  Sweden,  300, 
Regeneration,     natural,     167-173; 
under  nurse  trees,   175-177 ;  by 
coppice,  177-179, 
Regulation,  forest,  200,  , 
Rent,  soil,  213-217,  251,  464-465. 
Reproduction,    165,    169,  175-179, 

357- 
Reservations,  forest,  in  India,  280, 
288;  in  Russia,  292-293;  in  the 
U.S„  340-342,  360,  401-411,  489- 


INDEX. 


517 


490;  in  New  York  State,  342, 
386-390;  in  Pennsylvania,  342, 
391;  in  Michigan,  392;  in  Cali- 
fornia, 397-398  ;  in  Canada,  468- 
470. 

Resources,  exploitation  of,  1-4; 
economy  of,  6-10,  415 ;  classifi- 
cation of,  10. 

Revenue  from  forests,  28-33,  212- 
217,  220-222,  452-459;  in  Ger- 
many, 48-50,  132-136,  325-329; 
in  India,  115,  285-287;  in  the 
U.S.,  422-430. 

Revolution  (in  forestry),  no. 

Ribbentrop,  quoted,  114,  279. 

Rides,  fire,  193-194,  222. 

Roads,  improvement  of,  9;  use  of, 
in  forestry,  172,  464-465. 

Rocky  Mountain  forests,  332-333, 
358-360,  363. 

Roman  law,  of  property,  4,  20,  235  ; 
on  forests,  58. 

Rome,  ancient,  forestry  in,  91. 

Root,  development  of,  153-154, 
185-186. 

Rotation,  102,  no,  208-213. 

Rothrock,  Dr.,  391. 

Roumania,  forest  policy  of,  294. 

Russia,  forest  policy  pf,  291-294; 
meteorology  in,  442;  forest  rev- 
enue in,  455. 

Saginaw  Valley,  lumber  produc- 
tion in,  374. 
St.    Petersburg,   forest  institute  at, 

293- 
Salary  of  foresters  in  India,  287. 
Sands,  shifting,  in  France,  77,  277 ; 

in    Russia,    292;    in    the    U.S., 

368. 
Sanitary  influence  of  forests,  77-79. 
Saunders,  Dr.  W.,  469. 
Sawing,  waste  in,  41,  419-420. 
Sa.xony,  wood  production  in,  47-49, 

134-135;   felling  budget  in,  204; 

forest  conditions  in,  304,  314, 316, 


318 ;  forest  revenue  in,  328,  452- 
456;  income  tax  in,  466. 

Scholarships,  in  forestry,  239-240. 

Schools  of  forestry,  at  Nancy,  63, 
277;  in  Germany,  237-238,  315, 
488;  in  the  U.S.,  238-239,  390- 
391.  399-400;  at  Cooper's  Hill, 
289;  at  Dehra  Dun,  289;  in 
Russia,  293  ;  in  Austria,  295  ;  at 
Vallombrosa,  297;  at  Zurich, 
298;  in  Japan,  330. 

Schubert,  experiments  of,  443. 

Schwappach,  quoted,  48;/.,  256,491. 

Scotland,  forest  laws  of,  83  71. 

Seed,  character  iniluencing  distri- 
bution of  species,  143,  145-146; 
reproduction  by,  168-178. 

Selection  system  of  clearing,  173- 
174,  217. 

Seligenstadt,  forests  of,  92. 

Sequoia,  long  life  of,  146;  immu- 
nity of,  from  fire,  187 ;  sprouting 
of,  464. 

Series,  felling,  223-226. 

Servitudes,  303-304. 

Severance  felling,  224, 

Seymour,  H.,  386. 

Sheher  wood,  175,  177. 

Ships,  use  of  wood  in,  24. 

Sicily,  deforestation  of,  12,  59. 

Silviculture,  loi,  165-196,  227. 

Site,  156, 158. 

Smith,  Adam,  62,  93,  275,  307. 

Smith,  Hoke,  404. 

Snow,  in  forests,  74,  439,  444. 

Socialism,  232,  266-267. 

Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Agri- 
culture, 370,  380. 

Society  for  the  Protection  of  New 
Hampshire  Forests,  385. 

Soft  woods,  defined,  348. 

Soil,  as  a  resource,  13,  17-18 ;  va- 
rieties of,  56,  156 ;  relation  of,  to 
waterflow,  74-76  ;  fertility  of,  119- 
120,  183;  absolute  and  relative, 
122-123,  243-244;    cost  of,   126; 


5i8 


INDEX. 


relation  of,  to  species,  143  ;  rent, 
213-217,  251,  464-465;  tax,  465- 
467. 

Soudan,  forestry  in,  290. 

South,  U.S.,  forests  in,  353-356. 

South  America,  importation  of 
wood  by,  34. 

Species,  distribution  of,  141-149; 
in  the  U.S.,  347-349,  481-483. 

Sponge  theory,  72-73. 

Sport,  influence  of,  9,  346. 

Spruce,  growth  of,  160;  use  of,  for 
paper  pulp,  160,  423-424,  483. 

Stand,  open  and  close,  89-90,  154- 
156,  180-182;  pure  and  mixed, 
183 ;  old  and  young,  201-203. 

Standard-coppice  system,  179,  451. 

Starr,  Rev.  F.,  quoted,  375. 

State,  relation  of,  to  private  enter- 
prise, 4-10,  14-20,  230-235 ;  ad- 
ministration of  forests  by,  124, 
131-132,  138-139,  198,  206;  edu- 
cational function  of,  236-244; 
promotive  methods  of,  244-258; 
police  function  of,  258-267 ;  own- 
ership of  forests  by,  269-273,  275- 
276,  280,  291-293,  295,  306,  310, 
340-342,  386-391,  395,  397-398. 
401-41 I. 

Statics,  forestry,  214-222. 

Stations,  forestry.  See  Experiment 
stations. 

Statistics,  value  of,  242-244,  471; 
of  forest  finance,  30-33,  125-127, 
132-138,  220,  287,  325-328,  452- 
459;  of  forest  area,  35,  54,  334- 
341,430-431;  of  wood  consump- 
tion, 36-41,  51,  337-339.  416-429. 
475-480;  of  wood  production, 
36-39.  47-52,  349-350.  480-483; 
of  forest  reservations,  489-490. 

Sterility,   caused  by   deforestation, 

59.  63- 
Steuben,  Baron  von,  382. 
Stock,   normal,   129-131,  201-205; 

taxation  of,  251-253,  465-467.        1 


Stock  companies,  133. 

Strip  method  of  reproduction,  174- 
175,  190- 

Stumpage,  defined,  220  v.,  343 ; 
value  in  the  U.S.,  485-486. 

Substitutes  for  wood,  26-29,  421. 

Subterraneous  drainage,  19-20,  72, 
74-75.  444-447- 

Sugar,  maple,  29-30. 

Sully,  quoted,  17,  60. 

Supply  and  demand,  233-234,  242- 
243- 

Survey,  forest,  206-207. 

Sustained  yield,  199-222,  230,  259, 
324.  465- 

Swamps,  danger  from,  78-79. 

Sweden,  forest  policy  of,  298-300. 

Switzerland,  stations  in,  63-64;  for- 
est policy  of,  270,  297-298. 

Syrup,  maple,  30. 

Tanning,  28-29,  86,  424. 

Tariff  on  wood,  245,  253-258. 

Taungyas,  285. 

Taxation   of   woodlands,   245-253, 

378,  465-467- 
Teak,  282,  285. 
Temperate  zones,  40. 
Temperature,  effect  of  forests  on, 

62-63,  66,  69,  434-437,  441-444: 

relation   of,  to  growth,  141-142 

147. 
Terminology,    forest,    81-85,   448- 

450. 
Tharandt,  forest  academy  at,  488. 
Thinnings,  179,  182,  193,  226. 
Thirty-years     War,    effect    of,    on 

forests,  93,  305-306. 
Ties,  railroad,  23. 
Timber,  as  a  resource,  11-12,  19; 

age  of,  41,  43,  107,  355;  size  of, 

217-221. 
Timber  culture  acts,  246-247,  378- 

379.  403- 

Tutihcr  Trades  Journal,  quoted, 
298-299. 


INDEX. 


519 


Time  element,  in  forestry,  101-102, 
106-110,  127-132,  198-199,  205, 
225,  230,  233-234,  241,  255-256, 
346. 

Tokio  University,  forest  depart- 
ment of,  330. 

Torrents.     See  Floods. 

Transpiration,  77,  121,  437-438. 

Transportation,  relation  of,  to  ex- 
ploitation, 2-3,  257,  278-279,  372, 
374,  464-465  ;  use  of  wood  in,  24 ; 
expense  of,  171-172;  relation  of, 
to  wood  prices,  458-459. 

Tree  Planters'  Manual,  382. 

Tree  weeds,  43-44,  98, 160, 168,  210, 
347- 

Trusts,  133,  345. 

Tundras,  54-55,  142. 

Turnus,  no. 

Twelve  Tables,  Laws  of  the,  58. 

United  States,  waste  in,  2-3,  45, 
52-53;  merchant  marine  of,  24 
n.\  consumption  of  wood  in,  25, 
51.  337-339.  420-423,  475-4S0; 
exportation  of  wood  by,  34,  37, 
480-481 ;  timber  supply  of,  38,  52, 
331-339,  483-485;  forest  termi- 
nology in,  84  ;  rate  of  interest  in, 
136;  paternalism  in,  232, 245-249; 
exhaustion  of  forests  in,  234,  353, 
374-376,  479-480;  education  in, 
236-239,  390-391,  399-400;  forest 
legislation  in,  246-253,  263,  369- 
370,  377,  384-411;  tariff  legisla- 
tion in,  253,  258;  forest  area  in, 
334-339,471-475;  reservations  in, 
340-342,  360,  401-411,  489-490; 
wealth  of,  429-430;  forest  labor 
in,  450 ;  importation  of  wood  by, 
481 ;  price  of  stumpage,  485-486. 

United  States  Bureau  of  Forestry, 
217-219,  248-249,  377,  381,  401, 
410. 

United  Stales  Chief  Geographer, 
report  of,  339,  363. 


United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, 125,  374-375,  381. 

United  States  Geological  Survey, 
336  «.-337.  341.  358,  360,  40s. 
409-411. 

United  States  Patent  Office,  374-375. 

Universities,  courses  in  forestry  at, 
237-238,  315.  330.  390-391.  399- 
400. 

Vallombrosa,  forestry  school  at, 

297. 
Valuation,  forest,  213-222. 
Value  production,  maximum,  212. 
Vanderbilt    estate,    Biltmore,    238, 

399. 
Vermeule,  446. 
Vermont,  forestry  commission   of, 

386. 
Vessels,  wooden,  24. 
Virgin  forests,  waste  in,  42-44,  98- 

99,  140-141 ;  harvest  in,  46,  127- 

128  ;  in  the  U.S.,  339. 
Volume     development,     155-164 ; 

maximum,  211-212. 

Wages  of  lumbermen,  50, 116-117, 

450. 
Ward,  L.  F.,  quoted,  266-267,  415. 
Warder,  J.  A.,  376,  382. 
Washington,  forests  of,  361,  363. 
Waste  of  materials,  1-3,  28-29,  44- 

46;    in  sawing,  41,  419-420;    in 

virgin  forests,  42-44,  98-99,  140- 

141. 
Water,  as  a  resource,  11,  17-19; 

drinking,  79;  in  wood,  121. 
Waterflow,  influence  of  forests  on, 

61,  71-76,  90,  266,  276-277,  318- 

319.  342,  368. 
Waterways,  state  care  of,  14-16. 
Wealth,  31;  of  the  U.S.,  429-430. 
Weeds,  tree,  43-44,  98,   160,  168, 

210,  347. 
Weight  of  forest  product,  157,  460. 
West,  U.S.,  settlement  of,  21;  for- 


520 


INDEX. 


ests  in,  332-333. 336, 339-342, 357- 
364,  474-475;    irrigation  in,  342, 
447,  487 ;     forest    legislation   in, 
377-378. 
West  Virginia,  forest  legislation  in, 

394- 
Wind,  185-186,  224,  263,  439-444; 

effect  of,  on  rain  gauges,  432-433. 
Wind-breaks,  13,  70-71,  224,  440- 

441,  451- 
Wisconsin,  deforestation  of,  12; 
taxationof  forests  in,  252;  wood- 
land area  of,  336  ?/.-337  «. ;  wood 
production  in,  372;  forestry  move- 
ment in,  377  ;  forest  legislation  in, 

393- 

Wollny,  experiments  of,  446. 

Wood,  importance  of,  21-26,  427; 
consumption  of,  25,  36-41,  51, 
337-339-  41&-429.  475-480;  pulp, 


25.  27,  345,  421-424;  substitutes 
for,  26-29,  421 ;  growth  of,  106- 
109;  price  of,  134-135,  138,  220, 
420,  456-459.  485-487;  produc- 
tion rate  of,  159-164. 

Wood-lots,  n6,  131,  198-199,  343, 
380,  451. 

Woodland,  defined,  84. 

Wurtemberg,  forest  policy  of,  317- 
318,  321-322. 

Yale  University,  forestry  school  at, 

238,  399- 
Yield,  sustained,  199-222,  230,  259, 

324.  465- 
Yield-tables,  159-164,  207-208,  218- 

220,  461-463. 

Zurich,  forestry  school  at,  298; 
forest  finance  of,  324-326. 


